TD Securities Upgrades Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) to Buy

TD Securities upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

Separately, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

NYSE BNS opened at $53.04 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $55.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $52.30 and a 200 day moving average of $48.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were given a dividend of $0.768 per share. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.79%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 74.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tacita Capital Inc raised its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 32,130 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,753,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.3% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 3,357 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter worth $213,000. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 11,089 shares of the bank’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Executive Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the third quarter valued at $619,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

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.