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

The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$131.90 and last traded at C$130.43, with a volume of 131504 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$129.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on BNS. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$110.00 to C$130.00 in a research note on Friday, August 21st. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from C$128.00 to C$142.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$131.00 to C$134.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$121.00 to C$127.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, TD Securities upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$129.50.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.9%

The firm has a market cap of C$159.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of C$125.43 and a 200-day moving average of C$113.49.

Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 25th. The bank reported C$2.28 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$10.54 billion during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 14.08%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 7.1286267 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 29th were given a dividend of $1.14 per share. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is currently 58.04%.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

Scotiabank’s vision is to be our clients’ most trusted financial partner and deliver sustainable, profitable growth. Guided by our purpose: ‘for every future,’ we help our clients, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products, and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With assets of approximately $1.5 trillion (as at January 31, 2026), Scotiabank is one of the largest banks in North America by assets, and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS).