Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $97.00.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BNS. AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter valued at $499,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter worth $228,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 122.0% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 715 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 18.8% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 181,727 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,767,000 after acquiring an additional 28,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.9% in the third quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 7,927 shares of the bank’s stock worth $512,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE BNS opened at $72.29 on Monday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $44.09 and a 1 year high of $74.97. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.81. The company has a market cap of $89.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 12.10% and a net margin of 10.60%.The firm had revenue of $6.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 6th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is currently 79.85%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canada’s largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabank’s core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.