TD Securities Upgrades Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) to Buy

TD Securities 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 Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Separately, Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE BNS opened at $54.10 on Monday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $41.80 and a 1 year high of $55.12. The company has a market capitalization of $66.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $52.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.74.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were paid a $0.768 dividend. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.68%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BNS. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,127.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 581 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the first quarter worth about $53,000. City State Bank acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 102.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.