Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$97.03 and traded as high as C$97.77. Bank of Nova Scotia shares last traded at C$97.40, with a volume of 9,619,033 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BNS. Barclays raised their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$106.00 to C$108.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$114.00 to C$117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Securities cut shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from C$112.00 to C$111.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$108.00 to C$109.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Desjardins boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$106.00 to C$107.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$106.08.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of C$100.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$97.03. The stock has a market capitalization of C$120.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.16.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 7th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 64.69%.

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.