Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BMO has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$131.96.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$140.00 to C$136.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$136.00 to C$142.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Cormark lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$141.00 to C$133.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Desjardins lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from C$133.00 to C$129.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, National Bankshares lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$143.00 to C$136.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Nadim Hirji sold 2,882 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$130.46, for a total value of C$375,985.72. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of TSE:BMO traded up C$1.52 during midday trading on Monday, reaching C$116.40. 2,855,631 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,695,625. The business's fifty day moving average is C$123.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$126.19. Bank of Montreal has a one year low of C$102.67 and a one year high of C$133.95. The stock has a market cap of C$84.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.19.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO - Get Free Report) NYSE: BMO last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The bank reported C$2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of C$2.74 by C($0.15). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 7.28% and a net margin of 17.71%. The company had revenue of C$7.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$8.06 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 11.2532189 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.