Analysts Set The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Price Target at $72.00

Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Securities raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,388.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 536 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,127.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 581 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,588.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 861 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the period. City State Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 2nd quarter valued at $104,000. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE BNS opened at $55.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $68.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $43.67 and a 12 month high of $57.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $54.03 and a 200-day moving average of $50.16.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.7535 per share. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 72.45%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

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.