Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Stock

Key Points

• Barclays raised Bank of Montreal’s price target to C$240 from C$203, while maintaining a forecast that implies roughly 0.21% downside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: six analysts rate the stock Buy, five Hold, and one Sell, resulting in a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of C$249.
• Bank of Montreal shares rose 0.7% to C$240.50 in Friday trading. The bank reported quarterly EPS of C$3.67 on C$9.57 billion in revenue, while insiders sold more than 45,000 shares worth approximately C$10.3 million during the quarter.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BMO had its price target boosted by Barclays from C$203.00 to C$240.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. Barclays's target price points to a potential downside of 0.21% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on BMO. National Bank Financial raised their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$236.00 to C$278.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$233.50 to C$268.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Desjardins increased their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$230.00 to C$260.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$242.00 to C$265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$205.00 to C$230.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of C$249.00.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of TSE BMO traded up C$1.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching C$240.50. The company had a trading volume of 537,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,466,185. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of C$249.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$219.35. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of C$156.65 and a 52-week high of C$259.20. The stock has a market cap of C$168.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.22.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BMO last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported C$3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$9.57 billion for the quarter. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 12.63%. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 9.6514585 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Bank of Montreal

In other news, Director William Darryl White sold 27,167 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$225.74, for a total value of C$6,132,678.58. Following the sale, the director directly owned 87,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$19,676,852.84. This trade represents a 23.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Mona Elizabeth Malone sold 4,517 shares of Bank of Montreal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$244.61, for a total transaction of C$1,104,903.37. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$430,024.38. This trade represents a 71.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,004 shares of company stock worth $10,339,904. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of Montreal Company Profile

Bank of Montreal is a diversified financial-services provider based in North America, operating four business segments: Canadian personal and commercial banking, U.S. P&C banking, wealth management, and capital markets.

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