The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.00.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BNS. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

NYSE:BNS opened at $53.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $65.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.05. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $39.79 and a 1-year high of $55.12.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.01. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.768 dividend. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the second quarter worth about $120,463,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 17,015,877 shares of the bank’s stock worth $881,082,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361,136 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 14,563,337 shares of the bank’s stock worth $753,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,178,633 shares during the last quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter worth $77,670,000. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2,455.8% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,521,906 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,627,000 after buying an additional 1,462,360 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets segments.