Barclays Downgrades Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) to Equal Weight

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) was downgraded by Barclays from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Bank of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. CIBC reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Montreal in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.50.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of Montreal stock opened at $108.25 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.38. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $76.98 and a 12 month high of $109.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The bank reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The company had revenue of $6.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. Bank of Montreal’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 228.9% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 273 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 179.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 282.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.