Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Increases Dividend to $1.12 Per Share

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 28th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of 1.1172 per share by the bank on Tuesday, May 28th. This represents a $4.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11.

Bank of Montreal has raised its dividend payment by an average of 11.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 1 years. Bank of Montreal has a dividend payout ratio of 48.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Bank of Montreal to earn $10.01 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.39 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 43.9%.

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

NYSE BMO opened at $93.82 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.05. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 11.89%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.00.

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.