Cormark Reduces Earnings Estimates for Bank of Montreal

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) – Cormark decreased their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for Bank of Montreal in a report released on Friday, December 6th. Cormark analyst L. Persaud now forecasts that the bank will post earnings of $7.85 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $8.10. The consensus estimate for Bank of Montreal’s current full-year earnings is $7.79 per share. Cormark also issued estimates for Bank of Montreal’s FY2026 earnings at $9.17 EPS.

BMO has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Securities cut Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $133.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays decreased 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. Finally, CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.40.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $100.81 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.10. Bank of Montreal has a one year low of $76.98 and a one year high of $104.63.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.1329 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.50%. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BMO. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 454.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 14,076 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 171.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 6,261 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $612,000 after acquiring an additional 3,953 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 13,769 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 20,965 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. 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.