Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $84.46 and last traded at $85.0170, with a volume of 611 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $83.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BNS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded 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 increased their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $77.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.41.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.05. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 13.38%.The company had revenue of $7.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BNS. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,625 shares of the bank’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter valued at $396,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,024,708 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $348,263,000 after purchasing an additional 400,382 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.6% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,303,103 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $233,031,000 after purchasing an additional 342,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 65.1% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,538 shares of the bank’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 1,790 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

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.