The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Receives $69.00 Average PT from Analysts

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold 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 $69.00.

BNS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Nova Scotia

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BNS. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,432 shares of the bank’s stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Power Corp of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 12,037 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $587,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 70.6% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 585 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 19,493 shares of the bank’s stock worth $889,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, Gold Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 111,564 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,773,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $54.44 on Tuesday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $39.79 and a 52-week high of $55.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.04.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.768 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.64%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.72%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets segments.