Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$131.96.

Several research firms have recently commented on BMO. TD Securities lowered their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$142.00 to C$135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$140.00 to C$132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. CIBC cut their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$125.00 to C$120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$130.00 to C$124.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Senior Officer Nadim Hirji sold 2,882 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$130.46, for a total value of C$375,985.72. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of BMO stock opened at C$114.88 on Monday. Bank of Montreal has a 1-year low of C$102.67 and a 1-year high of C$133.95. The firm has a market cap of C$83.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of C$123.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$126.20.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The bank reported C$2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of C$2.74 by C($0.15). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 7.28% and a net margin of 17.71%. The company had revenue of C$7.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$8.06 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 11.2532189 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.40%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.85%.

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.