Bank of Montreal upgraded to Outperform at Scotiabank with eye toward U.S.

As previously reported, Scotiabank analyst Meny Grauman upgraded Bank of Montreal (BMO) to Outperform from Sector Perform with a price target of C$160, up from C$147. The firm heard “encouraging signals” during the earnings call that were “more positive and clearer that what we heard after Q3’s credit surprise,” noting that management now has confidence that BMO’s impaired PCL ratio peaked this quarter and will moderate through 2025. Macro trends in the U.S. have improved materially over the past few quarters, particularly in the wake of the Trump election, adds the firm, which says “we have always believed in BMO’s U.S. story, and recent developments only make the BoW acquisition more exciting.”