The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.00.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BNS shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, TD Securities upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mather Group LLC. grew 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 buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,588.2% during the third 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. City State Bank purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the third quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the second quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BNS opened at $55.42 on Friday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $43.67 and a 12-month high of $57.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $54.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a $0.7535 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.44%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend 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.