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

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $74.71 and last traded at $74.8960, with a volume of 330566 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on 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. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $92.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $69.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 6th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,068,464 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,625,499,000 after buying an additional 1,063,127 shares during the last quarter. Canerector Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 8,899.0% in the third quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 26,997,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,745,356,000 after acquiring an additional 26,697,000 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.3% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 18,364,021 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,187,709,000 after acquiring an additional 229,990 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the second quarter valued at $838,738,000. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 14,231,690 shares of the bank’s stock worth $786,729,000 after purchasing an additional 90,158 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

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.