Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $73.66 and last traded at $73.7210, with a volume of 80407 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $73.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BNS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $91.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $67.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.90.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 12.10%. The firm had revenue of $6.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 6th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 78.61%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Nova Scotia

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BNS. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canada’s largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabank’s core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.