Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Rating Increased to Buy at TD Securities

TD Securities upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports.

Separately, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE BNS opened at $53.04 on Monday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $41.80 and a 12-month high of $55.12. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.768 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.79%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.88%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Nova Scotia

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.8% during the second quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 136,337 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,235,000 after buying an additional 14,379 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2,455.8% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,521,906 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462,360 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 48.3% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,563,594 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $85,201,000 after purchasing an additional 509,120 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,091,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $690,438,000 after purchasing an additional 683,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 5,380.9% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 3,972,234 shares of the bank’s stock worth $216,447,000 after purchasing an additional 3,899,760 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.