Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $128.40.

A number of research firms have recently commented on BMO. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. CIBC raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Bank of Montreal stock opened at $98.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $76.98 and a 12-month high of $106.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $99.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.40.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.56 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a $1.1094 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.52%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 207.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 20,118 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,879,000 after purchasing an additional 7,411 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,103 shares of the bank’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. REDW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 190,255 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,760,000 after buying an additional 35,614 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of Montreal

Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. It operates through Canadian P&C, U.S P&C, BMO Wealth Management, and BMO Capital Markets segments. The company’s personal banking products and services include deposits, mortgages, home lending, consumer credit, small business lending, credit cards, cash management, financial and investment advice, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services comprise various of financing options and treasury and payment solutions, as well as risk management products.