BMO hikes dividend 25.5%

Article Excerpt

BANK OF MONTREAL $138 is a buy. The bank (Toronto symbol BMO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 647.3 million; Market cap: $89.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.3; Dividend yield: 3.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bmo.com) is raising your dividend by 25.5%. Starting with the February 2022 payment, investors will receive $1.33 a share instead of $1.06. The new annual rate of $5.32 yields 3.9%. Bank of Montreal is also resuming its share repurchase plan. It aims to buy back up to 3.5% of its shares over the next year. As well, the bank continues to take back its previous loan-loss provisions as the economy recovers from COVID-19. In the quarter ended October 31, 2021, it reported a credit of $126 million compared to a charge of $432 million a year earlier. As a result, the bank’s earnings in the quarter rose 38.2%, to $3.33 a share (or a total of $2.23 billion) from $2.41 a share (or $1.61 billion). The bank will probably…