Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Research Coverage Started at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) in a research report report published on Friday. The brokerage issued an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Desjardins reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank Of Montreal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE:BMO opened at $174.34 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.42. Bank Of Montreal has a 52-week low of $112.58 and a 52-week high of $187.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.94.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.14. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 13.04% and a net margin of 12.60%.The business had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Bank Of Montreal will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

Institutional Trading of Bank Of Montreal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 6,300.1% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 479,492 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,233,000 after purchasing an additional 472,000 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden bought a new position in Bank Of Montreal during the first quarter valued at $3,979,000. Tacita Capital Inc purchased a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth $1,518,000. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth $920,002,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal in the 2nd quarter worth about $235,791,000. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

About Bank Of Montreal

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), commonly known as BMO Financial Group, is one of Canada’s largest and longest-established banks. Founded in Montreal and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the bank provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. BMO is publicly listed in both Canada and the United States and operates under a consolidated financial services model that integrates banking, capital markets, wealth management and asset management activities.

BMO’s core businesses include personal and commercial banking—offering checking and savings accounts, lending, mortgages, and small-business services—alongside wealth management and private banking through its asset and investment management divisions.