Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Receives $119.75 Average Price Target from Analysts

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $119.75.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $134.00 to $117.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $123.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. TD Securities cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of BMO stock opened at $94.92 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $91.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $76.98 and a 1 year high of $100.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.76 by ($0.12). Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The company had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 7.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be given a $1.123 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $4.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.73%. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BMO. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 96.2% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,200 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Bank of Montreal by 1,001.5% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 25,180 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,459,000 after acquiring an additional 22,894 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the first quarter worth about $70,000. Rodgers Brothers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 13.7% in the first quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 12,475 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,219,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anson Funds Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,442,000. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Company Profile

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.