Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$128.57.

Several research analysts have weighed in on BMO shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$141.00 to C$124.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. National Bankshares lowered their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$136.00 to C$131.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. TD Securities lowered their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$134.00 to C$130.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$136.00 to C$135.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 0.6 %

BMO opened at C$117.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of C$85.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.16. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of C$102.67 and a 52 week high of C$133.95. The business’s 50 day moving average is C$115.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$122.98.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The bank reported C$2.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$2.74 by C($0.15). The firm had revenue of C$7.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$8.06 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 8.19% and a net margin of 20.07%. Equities analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 11.6437811 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.30%. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 74.34%.

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.