Q1 EPS Estimates for Bank of Montreal Reduced by Desjardins

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) – Equities researchers at Desjardins lowered their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for Bank of Montreal in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, February 4th. Desjardins analyst D. Young now forecasts that the bank will post earnings per share of $1.68 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.74. The consensus estimate for Bank of Montreal’s current full-year earnings is $7.76 per share.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on BMO. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE BMO opened at $99.71 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.97. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $76.98 and a 1 year high of $104.63.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 63.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Bank of Montreal during the third quarter worth $45,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 244.1% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

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.