BMO Announces Winners of 19th 1st Art! Competition

BMO Financial Group (BMO), North America’s eighth-largest bank, announced Monday the national winner, and 12 regional winners, of the 19th BMO 1st Art! competition, celebrating the remarkable achievements in visual arts among undergraduates across Canada.

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Selected from a record 336 nominations, each of the 12 regional winners will receive a cash prize of C$7,500, with the national winner awarded C$15,000. (See Bank of Montreal stock charts on TipRanks)

This year is the first time in the history of the competition that a time-based media project has won the national prize. Entitled Father Like Son, the film by NSCAD graduate, Anna Kuelken, who won the national award, takes an intimate look at everyday life on her small family farm in Alberta.

All selected works will be presented in a free virtual exhibition at the University of Toronto’s Virtual Art Museum website from November 16 to December 8, 2021.

Cameron Fowler, chief strategy and operations officer, BMO Financial Group, said, “We are thrilled to recognize this year’s impressive group of winners as some of the best and brightest emerging artists across Canada. Having their achievement selected by this respected jury of artists, curators and arts educators is an immense achievement that we hope will bring a future of success in the arts to these talented winners.”

On September 1, Credit Suisse analyst Mike Rizvanovic maintained a Buy rating on BMO, with a price target of C$147. This implies 13.6% upside potential.

The rest of the Street is cautiously optimistic, with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on seven Buys and three Holds. The average Bank of Montreal price target of C$139.90 implies 8.1% upside potential to current levels.

TipRanks’ Smart Score

BMO scores a 9 out of 10 on TipRanks’ Smart Score rating system, indicating that the stock returns have good chances to beat the overall market.