Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Upgraded to Buy at Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. TD Securities upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BNS opened at $56.46 on Tuesday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $41.80 and a 1 year high of $56.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 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.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were given a dividend of $0.768 per share. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 74.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 11,089 shares of the bank’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 18,470 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.3% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 3,357 shares of the bank’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.5% during the second quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 19,493 shares of the bank’s stock worth $889,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.