Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$102.02 and last traded at C$101.53, with a volume of 1068362 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$101.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on BNS shares. National Bankshares set a C$81.00 price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. TD Securities boosted their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$93.00 to C$99.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$95.00 to C$97.00 in a research note 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 research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$86.00 to C$96.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$93.85.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.2%

The stock has a market cap of C$126.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of C$95.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$86.52.

Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported C$1.93 earnings per share for the quarter. The business 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 7.1286267 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 29th were issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 7th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 76.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of Nova Scotia news, insider Julie Walsh sold 3,716 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$100.62, for a total transaction of C$373,903.92. Following the completion of 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. Company 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.