Brokerages Set Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) PT at $106.00

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $106.00.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $97.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of BNS stock opened at $75.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $93.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $72.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.18. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $48.22 and a 1-year high of $78.28.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The bank reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $7.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.99 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 12.49%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Canerector Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 8,899.0% during the third quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 26,997,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,745,356,000 after purchasing an additional 26,697,000 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter worth about $1,368,456,000. FIL Ltd lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 16,489,540 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,216,157,000 after purchasing an additional 5,461,052 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,120.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,556,295 shares of the bank’s stock worth $262,284,000 after purchasing an additional 3,445,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 44.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 9,800,305 shares of the bank’s stock worth $635,730,000 after purchasing an additional 3,007,407 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

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.