Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $117.00.

BNS has been the topic of several research reports. TD Securities upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Friday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. National Bank Financial upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.0%

BNS opened at $94.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $114.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.12. Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $62.98 and a twelve month high of $95.34. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $90.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 25th. The bank reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.11. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 13.91%.The company had revenue of $7.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a $1.14 dividend. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.05%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Nova Scotia

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BNS. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 18,674,585 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,379,120,000 after purchasing an additional 310,564 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,368,456,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the second quarter worth approximately $1,016,738,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,259,989 shares of the bank’s stock worth $923,232,000 after buying an additional 799,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 9,857,887 shares of the bank’s stock worth $730,958,000 after buying an additional 57,582 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

The Bank of Nova Scotia, operating as Scotiabank, is a Canadian financial institution headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in Halifax in 1832, the bank provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, institutions and governments.

Scotiabank’s principal activities include Canadian personal and commercial banking, international banking, global wealth management, and global banking and markets. Its products and services include deposit accounts, mortgages, consumer and commercial loans, credit cards, investment products, financial planning, asset management, foreign exchange, capital markets services and corporate banking.

The bank serves customers across Canada and maintains international operations in Mexico, Peru, Chile, the Caribbean, Central America and other selected markets.