Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Upgraded at TD Securities

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

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on BNS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Friday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BNS opened at $92.97 on Tuesday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $61.69 and a 12-month high of $94.96. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $88.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.06. The firm has a market cap of $113.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.11. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.13 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 13.91% and a return on equity of 16.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BNS. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the first quarter worth about $30,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,366.7% during the second quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 440 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

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.