Scotiabank Upgrades Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) to Sector Outperform

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Free Report) TSE: BMO from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America cut Bank of Montreal from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $134.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays lowered their price target on Bank of Montreal from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. TD Securities cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $122.40.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of Bank of Montreal stock traded up $3.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $103.39. 1,388,699 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 897,469. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of $76.98 and a 52 week high of $104.63. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $93.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.38. The company has a market cap of $75.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 8,602 shares of the bank's stock valued at $776,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.5% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,581 shares of the bank's stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 3.1% in the third quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 4,125 shares of the bank's stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 4.4% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the bank's stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in Bank of Montreal by 17.9% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,092 shares of the bank's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.