Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after TD Securities upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The company traded as high as $92.75 and last traded at $92.70, with a volume of 2373217 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $86.86.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on BNS. Weiss Ratings lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Bank of Nova Scotia

Here are the key news stories impacting Bank of Nova Scotia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly profit beat expectations. Scotiabank reported approximately $2.95 billion in third-quarter profit, up from $2.53 billion a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share reached $2.28, ahead of analysts’ estimate of about $2.10. A separate reported figure showed EPS of $1.64 versus consensus of $1.53, reflecting differences between adjusted and reported measures. Scotiabank posts record quarter as capital markets surge lifts profit past estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Capital markets provided a major earnings boost. Elevated market volatility supported stronger-than-expected trading and investment-banking activity, helping the global banking and markets division deliver a record result. Bank of Nova Scotia beats profit estimates boosted by capital markets and business performance
• Positive Sentiment: Growth was broad-based. Wealth management also posted a record result, while the bank said all major business lines contributed to the earnings improvement. Revenue increased 11.1% year over year, and higher interest income provided additional support. Scotiabank Earnings Lifted by Record Result in Wealth Management
• Neutral Sentiment: New business credit-card product. Scotiabank launched a no-fee Visa card offering Canadian business owners 1% cash back. The product could support future customer acquisition and payments revenue, but its near-term financial impact is likely limited. Scotiabank Launches New No Fee Visa Credit Card

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BNS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,237,537 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,221,440,000 after buying an additional 1,169,073 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 18,674,585 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,379,120,000 after buying an additional 310,564 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter worth $1,368,456,000. FIL Ltd grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 16,489,540 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,216,157,000 after acquiring an additional 5,461,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,259,989 shares of the bank’s stock worth $923,232,000 after acquiring an additional 799,474 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $87.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.11.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.13 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 13.16%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

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.