Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $117.00

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $117.00.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. National Bank Financial raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Friday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 1.4%

Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $93.54 on Friday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $62.98 and a twelve month high of $95.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $113.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $90.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.60.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 25th. The bank reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.11. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 13.91% and a return on equity of 16.12%. The company had revenue of $7.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a C$1.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.05%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Nova Scotia

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Andra AP fonden boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.7% in the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 220,260 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 84.4% during the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 8,372 shares of the bank’s stock worth $727,000 after buying an additional 3,831 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.7% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,755,000 after buying an additional 1,437 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the second quarter valued at about $822,000. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 119.1% in the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 353,888 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,748,000 after buying an additional 192,388 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

The Bank of Nova Scotia, operating as Scotiabank, is a Canadian financial institution headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in Halifax in 1832, the bank provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, institutions and governments.

Scotiabank’s principal activities include Canadian personal and commercial banking, international banking, global wealth management, and global banking and markets. Its products and services include deposit accounts, mortgages, consumer and commercial loans, credit cards, investment products, financial planning, asset management, foreign exchange, capital markets services and corporate banking.

The bank serves customers across Canada and maintains international operations in Mexico, Peru, Chile, the Caribbean, Central America and other selected markets.