The Successful Investor Hotline – Friday, May 27, 2016

Article Excerpt

BANK OF MONTREAL, $83.44, Toronto symbol BMO, gained 1% this week after announcing it will raise its dividend. The bank also said it’s setting aside more funds to cover potential bad loans to Canadian oil and gas firms; and with more of its customers banking online, it will cut 4% of its workforce. In its fiscal 2016 second quarter, which ended April 30, 2016, Bank of Montreal earned $1.152 billion. That’s a gain of 0.5% over $1.146 billion a year earlier. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 1.2%, to $1.73 from $1.71. These figures exclude severance payments and other unusual items. On that basis, the latest earnings missed the consensus estimate of $1.75 a share. Earnings from Canadian retail banking (44% of the total) rose 8.0% on higher loan demand and credit card spending. That offset smaller interest income from those loans due to lower rates. The U.S. retail banking division (18%) saw its profits jump 22.0% due to the…