Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as C$101.33 and last traded at C$101.04, with a volume of 998068 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$100.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$98.00 to C$100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$100.00 to C$103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$80.00 to C$86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$86.00 to C$96.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a C$108.00 price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$93.85.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is C$94.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$85.75. The firm has a market capitalization of C$125.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.35.

Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported C$1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$9.77 billion during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 9.64%. Analysts forecast that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 7.1286267 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 29th were given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 7th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is currently 76.19%.

Insider Transactions at Bank of Nova Scotia

In other Bank of Nova Scotia news, insider Julie Walsh sold 3,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$100.62, for a total transaction of C$373,903.92. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$143,886.60. This trade represents a 72.21% decrease in their position. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

Bank of Nova Scotia is a global financial services provider. The bank has five business segments: Canadian banking, international banking, global wealth management, global banking and markets, and other. It offers a range of advice, products, and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. The bank’s international operations span numerous countries and are more concentrated in Central and South America.