Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Downgraded to Hold at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

BMO has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a neutral rating for the company. Desjardins cut Bank of Montreal from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Bank of Montreal from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Bank of Montreal from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $119.75.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:BMO opened at $83.62 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $60.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.70. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $73.98 and a 12-month high of $100.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.76 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.25 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.60% and a net margin of 8.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 7.91 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.123 per share. This represents a $4.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.25%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Montreal

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in Bank of Montreal by 3,375.0% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 417 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.