Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Sunday.

BMO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Friday, January 9th. Natl Bk Canada cut shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. TD Securities raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank Of Montreal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE BMO opened at $145.63 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Bank Of Montreal has a 12-month low of $85.40 and a 12-month high of $146.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.94.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 11.13%.The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This is a boost from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Bank Of Montreal’s payout ratio is 59.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank Of Montreal

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BMO. Code Waechter LLC grew its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 317 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its position in Bank Of Montreal by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 17,780 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,308,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,121 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 3.6% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the bank’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 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.