Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Cut to “Underweight” at Barclays

Barclays downgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on BMO. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Securities upgraded Bank Of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research raised Bank Of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $133.85 on Friday. Bank Of Montreal has a 1 year low of $85.40 and a 1 year high of $149.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $140.27 and a 200 day moving average of $131.98. The stock has a market cap of $94.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.92.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.16. Bank Of Montreal had a net margin of 11.76% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The business had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank Of Montreal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. Code Waechter LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the bank’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 317 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 17,780 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,308,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 4.6% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,121 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the bank’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank Of Montreal Company Profile

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), commonly known as BMO Financial Group, is one of Canada’s largest and longest-established banks. Founded in Montreal and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the bank provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. BMO is publicly listed in both Canada and the United States and operates under a consolidated financial services model that integrates banking, capital markets, wealth management and asset management activities.

BMO’s core businesses include personal and commercial banking—offering checking and savings accounts, lending, mortgages, and small-business services—alongside wealth management and private banking through its asset and investment management divisions.