Desjardins Lowers Earnings Estimates for Bank of Montreal

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Free Report) NYSE: BMO - Research analysts at Desjardins reduced 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 earn $2.43 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.45. The consensus estimate for Bank of Montreal's current full-year earnings is $9.65 per share.

BMO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from C$133.00 to C$161.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$143.00 to C$148.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. 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. National Bankshares increased their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$127.00 to C$148.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from C$134.00 to C$150.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$135.92.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of BMO stock traded up C$1.62 on Thursday, hitting C$142.67. The stock had a trading volume of 2,631,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,276,829. The firm has a market capitalization of C$104.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's 50 day moving average is C$140.62 and its 200-day moving average is C$128.24. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of C$109.02 and a 52-week high of C$147.54.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $1.59 dividend. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of Montreal news, Director William Darryl White sold 11,376 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$140.79, for a total transaction of C$1,601,592.91. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

About Bank of Montreal

Bank of Montreal is a diversified financial-services provider based in North America, operating four business segments: Canadian personal and commercial banking, U.S. P&C banking, wealth management, and capital markets.