Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$131.96.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BMO shares. Desjardins cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from C$133.00 to C$129.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$137.00 to C$129.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. TD Securities cut their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$142.00 to C$135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$136.00 to C$142.00 in a report on Monday, May 13th.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of BMO opened at C$114.83 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of C$83.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.19. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of C$102.67 and a 12 month high of C$133.95. The company has a 50-day moving average price of C$122.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$125.99.

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

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

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

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.