Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) to Issue Dividend Increase – C$1.71 Per Share

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be paid a dividend of 1.71 per share by the bank on Wednesday, August 26th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. This is a 2.4% increase from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67.

Bank Of Montreal has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 4 years. Bank Of Montreal has a payout ratio of 51.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Bank Of Montreal to earn $13.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.0%.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Bank Of Montreal stock opened at $163.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Bank Of Montreal has a 1 year low of $104.08 and a 1 year high of $163.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $147.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.74. The stock has a market cap of $114.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.94.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.04 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on BMO shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research cut shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank Of Montreal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.00.

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.