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

Key Points

• Analysts hold a mixed view of Bank of Montreal: six recommend holding the stock, five recommend buying, and one recommends selling. The average 12-month price target is $163, below the reported share price of $172.44.
• BMO’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $2.84 versus the $2.71 consensus and revenue of $7.10 billion, up 10.1% year over year.
• The bank declared a quarterly dividend of C$1.71 per share, equating to C$6.84 annually and a 4.0% yield; institutional investors own approximately 45.82% of its stock.

Shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $163.00.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BMO shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut shares of Bank Of Montreal from a "sector outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Up 0.8%

Bank Of Montreal stock opened at $172.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.93. Bank Of Montreal has a 12 month low of $119.84 and a 12 month high of $187.22. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 25th. The bank reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.13. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 11.72%.The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Bank Of Montreal will post 12.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of C$1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Bank Of Montreal's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank Of Montreal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BMO. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 19.0% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,584 shares of the bank's stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden boosted its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 76.9% during the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 52,000 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,188,000 after purchasing an additional 22,600 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 125.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 294,015 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,948,000 after purchasing an additional 163,407 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 4.6% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 43,080 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,612,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the second quarter worth $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company's stock.

Bank Of Montreal Company Profile

Bank of Montreal, operating under the BMO Financial Group brand, is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1817, it is one of Canada's largest banks and serves individuals, businesses, institutions and governments through operations in Canada and the United States.

BMO's personal and commercial banking businesses provide deposit accounts, mortgages, consumer lending, credit cards, investment products and financial planning services. The bank also offers commercial lending, treasury management and other banking solutions to businesses of various sizes.

Through BMO Wealth Management, the company provides investment management, private banking, financial planning and related advisory services.

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.