FY2025 EPS Estimates for Bank of Montreal Reduced by Cormark

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) – Analysts at Cormark decreased their FY2025 earnings estimates for Bank of Montreal in a report issued on Friday, February 21st. Cormark analyst L. Persaud now forecasts that the bank will post earnings per share of $7.71 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $7.85. The consensus estimate for Bank of Montreal’s current full-year earnings is $7.71 per share.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE BMO opened at $100.53 on Monday. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $104.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $73.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.09.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth $346,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2,701.7% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 30,454 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,747,000 after buying an additional 29,367 shares during the period. Five Oceans Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter worth $327,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 80.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 125,572 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,344,000 after buying an additional 55,823 shares during the period. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 72.9% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 588,209 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,082,000 after buying an additional 248,098 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a $1.1329 dividend. This represents a $4.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. This is an increase 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.