Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $106.00.

BNS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $97.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE BNS opened at $67.73 on Friday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52 week low of $44.09 and a 52 week high of $78.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $73.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.08, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.10.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The bank reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The company had revenue of $7.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canada’s largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabank’s core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.