Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Downgraded to "Underweight" Rating by Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays downgraded Bank of Montreal from "equal weight" to "underweight" in a research report issued Friday.
• Despite the downgrade, the analyst consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $163.00, based on a mix of 2 Strong Buy, 3 Buy, 6 Hold and 1 Sell ratings.
• In its latest quarter BMO beat expectations with EPS of $2.51 versus $2.35 expected and revenue of $7.21 billion (up 6% year-over-year), while reporting a return on equity of 12.16%.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO was downgraded by analysts at Barclays from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report issued on Friday,Finviz reports.

BMO has been the topic of a number of other reports. National Bank Financial reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Down 1.0%

BMO opened at $136.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Bank Of Montreal has a 12 month low of $85.40 and a 12 month high of $149.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.76.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.16. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 11.76%.The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. Bank Of Montreal's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Bank Of Montreal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BMO. Canerector Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 18,035.0% during the third quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 22,668,750 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,952,605,000 after acquiring an additional 22,543,750 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Bank Of Montreal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,184,220,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 2,986.1% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,170,118 shares of the bank's stock valued at $240,009,000 after purchasing an additional 2,099,800 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,079,026 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,486,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 74.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,817,406 shares of the bank's stock worth $495,461,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628,318 shares during the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.