Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts are cautious on BMO: Bank of Montreal has an average rating of “Hold” from 13 analysts, with a mix of one sell, seven hold, and five buy ratings. The average 1-year price target is $163.00.
• Recent earnings topped expectations: BMO reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54, while revenue came in at $7.04 billion, also slightly above forecasts. Revenue rose 10.2% year over year.
• The bank raised its dividend: Bank of Montreal increased its quarterly dividend to $1.71 per share from $1.67, implying an annualized payout of $6.84 and a dividend yield of 3.8%.

Shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $163.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BMO. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research cut Bank Of Montreal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Desjardins restated a "hold" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,017,205 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,287,878,000 after purchasing an additional 673,248 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,372,601 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,519,180,000 after purchasing an additional 293,575 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 9,445,162 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,226,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245,500 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Bank Of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth about $1,059,320,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,030,219 shares of the bank's stock worth $932,242,000 after purchasing an additional 442,812 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank Of Montreal Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE BMO opened at $179.08 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $125.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.93. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $165.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Bank Of Montreal has a 52 week low of $109.64 and a 52 week high of $179.33.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.14. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 12.60% and a return on equity of 13.04%. The business had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.98 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.62 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. This is an increase from Bank Of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Bank Of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is 51.06%.

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.

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