The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Receives $69.00 Average PT from Analysts

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $69.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BNS shares. TD Securities raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,388.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 536 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,127.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 581 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,588.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 861 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter worth $53,000. Finally, City State Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of BNS opened at $56.12 on Wednesday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $41.80 and a 1-year high of $56.17. The stock has a market cap of $69.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.05. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.25.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.01. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. Bank of Nova Scotia’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.768 per share. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.88%.

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.