Desjardins Raises Earnings Estimates for Bank of Montreal

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) – Stock analysts at Desjardins increased their FY2025 EPS estimates for Bank of Montreal in a research report issued on Tuesday, February 25th. Desjardins analyst D. Young now anticipates that the bank will post earnings of $8.05 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $7.74. The consensus estimate for Bank of Montreal’s current full-year earnings is $7.71 per share.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $1.36. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The company’s revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. CIBC raised Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of BMO stock opened at $102.71 on Friday. 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 fifty day moving average price of $99.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.05. The company has a market cap of $74.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.09. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $76.98 and a 12 month high of $106.00.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.1094 per share. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth about $346,000. Five Oceans Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth about $327,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 80.0% during 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 last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 72.9% during 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 last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,327,465 shares of the bank’s stock worth $300,137,000 after buying an additional 144,252 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

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.