Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Downgraded to “Neutral” Rating by Bank of America

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) was downgraded by Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Finviz reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on BNS. CIBC restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of BNS opened at $47.74 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.11. Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $43.68 and a twelve month high of $57.07.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BNS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter worth about $690,746,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,990,868 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,361,752,000 after acquiring an additional 2,195,604 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,529,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,433,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $406,103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,700 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,363,146 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,758,150,000 after purchasing an additional 969,488 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.