Bank of Montreal $57 – Toronto symbol BMO

BANK OF MONTREAL $57 (Toronto symbol BMO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 498.6 million; Market cap: $28.4 billion; SI Rating: Above average) is the fourth-largest Canadian bank, with $366.5 billion in assets.

Bank of Montreal owns Harris Bank, a major bank in Chicago. Harris’s… Read More

Buy Banks Despite the Writedowns

Bank stocks have moved down in the past few months, mainly because of concerns over a general lack of liquidity for securities backed by risky assets, such as subprime mortgages in the United States. This lack of liquidity makes it difficult to assess the market… Read More

Healthy Products, Cost Cuts Spur Profits

CONAGRA FOODS INC. $25 (New York symbol CAG; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 489.8 million; Market cap: $12.2 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) is phasing out less-profitable food products to focus on those with greater potential, such as foods aimed at health-conscious consumers.

In its… Read More

Bank of Montreal $69 – Toronto symbol BMO

BANK OF MONTREAL $69 (Toronto symbol BMO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 500.0 million; Market cap: $34.5 billion; SI Rating: Above average) is the fourth-largest bank in Canada, with $356.5 billion in assets.

The bank has roughly 1,200 branches in Canada, and aims to… Read More

Banks Still Have Long-term Appeal

All five of Canada’s biggest banks have been exceeding investor expectations since at least the mid-1990s. Investors always worry too much about the impact on the banks of each new ripple in interest rates and business statistics.

Bank profits and loan losses do go through swings,… Read More