Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Upgraded to Outperform at Royal Bank of Canada

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) was upgraded by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $161.00 price objective on the bank’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $133.00. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 63.57% from the company’s current price.

BMO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy 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 $128.00.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BMO opened at $98.43 on Wednesday. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $76.98 and a 12-month high of $104.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $95.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.08. The firm has a market cap of $71.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.09.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 244.1% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 207.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 44.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,103 shares of the bank’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.