03:25 PM EST, 02/25/2026 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We increase our 12-month target price by USD26 to USD166, 14.4x our FY 27 (Oct.) EPS view of CAD15.81 (USD11.56), a premium to BMO's five-year forward P/E average of 10.2x given expectations for improving efficiency in U.S. operations. We raise our FY 26 EPS estimate to CAD14.19 from CAD13.59 and bump FY 27's up to CAD15.81 from CAD14.92. With credit concerns leading to conservatism, BMO saw both loan and deposit balances fall on a Y/Y basis, a rare occurrence for a large Canadian bank. However, improvement is on the horizon. BMO's balance sheet optimization is nearly complete and management expects commercial loan growth to resume in the second half of the year as deal pipelines strengthen. Early signs of progress are already visible: BMO's adjusted ROE reached 12.4% in Q1, its highest level since 2023. That said, significant improvement is still needed, particularly in U.S. banking, where ROE was just 8.5% in Q1. We expect BMO's March 26 Investor Day to provide additional clarity on the path forward.