Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as C$26.30 and last traded at C$128.29, with a volume of 544205 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$129.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on BMO. CIBC lifted their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$116.00 to C$120.00 in a research report on Friday, September 6th. National Bankshares cut their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$131.00 to C$127.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$141.00 to C$124.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. TD Securities cut Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from C$130.00 to C$114.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Desjardins lowered their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$125.00 to C$120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$120.77.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$93.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is C$118.31 and its 200 day moving average is C$120.90.

Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO) (NYSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported C$2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of C$2.72 by C($0.08). The business had revenue of C$8.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$8.23 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 21.20% and a return on equity of 8.49%. On average, analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 9.6514585 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.83%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.35%.

Insider Activity at Bank of Montreal

In related news, Senior Officer Steven Lloyd Tennyson sold 7,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$112.16, for a total value of C$886,977.10. In other news, Senior Officer David Robert Casper sold 12,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$121.85, for a total transaction of C$1,562,007.97. Also, Senior Officer Steven Lloyd Tennyson sold 7,908 shares of Bank of Montreal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$112.16, for a total value of C$886,977.10. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.