The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.80 Per Share

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 28th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.7996 per share by the bank on Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. This is a 7.8% increase from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74.

Bank of Nova Scotia has increased its dividend by an average of 4.7% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Bank of Nova Scotia has a payout ratio of 55.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Bank of Nova Scotia to earn $5.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.06 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.1%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 2.0%

BNS opened at $53.23 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $49.00 and a 200-day moving average of $51.10. The company has a market capitalization of $66.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.11. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $43.68 and a fifty-two week high of $57.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 10.20%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.58 EPS. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BNS. CIBC reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Nova Scotia

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 111.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,096 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,056 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

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.