National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Desjardins raised their price target on the stock from C$175.00 to C$180.00. Desjardins currently has a buy rating on the stock. National Bank of Canada traded as high as C$175.95 and last traded at C$175.85, with a volume of 2053892 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$173.57.

A number of other research firms have also commented on NA. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$147.00 to C$158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. TD Securities raised their target price on National Bank of Canada from C$161.00 to C$181.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on National Bank of Canada from C$168.00 to C$173.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. CIBC upped their price target on National Bank of Canada from C$174.00 to C$179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on National Bank of Canada from C$149.00 to C$163.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$165.83.

National Bank of Canada Stock Up 1.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of C$69.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48, a PEG ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$162.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$150.61.

National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The financial services provider reported C$2.82 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$3.70 billion during the quarter. National Bank of Canada had a net margin of 19.69% and a return on equity of 15.43%. Research analysts anticipate that National Bank of Canada will post 10.8360791 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, February 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, February 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is a positive change from National Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 29th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. National Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

About National Bank of Canada

National Bank of Canada is the sixth-largest Canadian bank. The bank offers integrated financial services, primarily in the province of Quebec as well as the city of Toronto. Operational segments include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and a financial markets group.