Cormark Lifts Earnings Estimates for Bank of Montreal

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) – Analysts at Cormark increased their FY2025 EPS estimates for shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note issued on Wednesday, February 26th. Cormark analyst L. Persaud now expects that the bank will earn $8.27 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $7.71. The consensus estimate for Bank of Montreal’s current full-year earnings is $7.71 per share. Cormark also issued estimates for Bank of Montreal’s FY2026 earnings at $9.38 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMO opened at $103.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $99.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.82. Bank of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $76.98 and a fifty-two week high of $106.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.09.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The company’s revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.56 EPS.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a $1.1094 dividend. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is currently 63.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,422 shares of the bank’s stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 5,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 1.3% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 8,602 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,865 shares of the bank’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,355 shares of the bank’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of Montreal

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.