Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. National Bankshares reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank Of Montreal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Price Performance

BMO stock opened at $128.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $125.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Bank Of Montreal has a 52-week low of $85.40 and a 52-week high of $131.36.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.79% and a net margin of 11.13%.Bank Of Montreal’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This is a boost from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank Of Montreal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank Of Montreal during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Bank Of Montreal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 466.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 238 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Bank Of Montreal in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Bank Of Montreal in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.