Q1 EPS Estimate for Bank of Montreal Lowered by Analyst

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) – Research analysts at National Bank Financial reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Bank of Montreal in a report issued on Monday, February 17th. National Bank Financial analyst G. Dechaine now anticipates that the bank will post earnings per share of $1.56 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.58. The consensus estimate for Bank of Montreal’s current full-year earnings is $7.76 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for Bank of Montreal’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.90 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.19 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.13 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $7.77 EPS.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of BMO opened at $101.04 on Wednesday. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $76.98 and a fifty-two week high of $104.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.01. The stock has a market cap of $73.64 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 54.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in Bank of Montreal by 16.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 34,231 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,088,000 after acquiring an additional 4,918 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 207.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 3.6% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,894 shares of the bank’s stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,094 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.1329 per share. This represents a $4.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.49%. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 63.32%.

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.