Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $163.00.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. CIBC raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Friday, December 5th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Bank Of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $168.00 to $163.00 in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Natl Bk Canada downgraded Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Up 0.2%

BMO stock opened at $131.24 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $126.30 and a 200 day moving average of $121.10. The firm has a market cap of $93.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.95. Bank Of Montreal has a twelve month low of $85.40 and a twelve month high of $132.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The bank reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.20. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 11.13%.The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. This is a boost from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Bank Of Montreal’s payout ratio is 57.35%.

Institutional Trading of Bank Of Montreal

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 3.5% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 2,756 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Bank Of Montreal by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,121 shares of the bank’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Choreo LLC raised its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,619 shares of the bank’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank Of Montreal Company Profile

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.