National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from C$164.00 to C$177.00. The stock traded as high as C$177.82 and last traded at C$177.62, with a volume of 121889 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$176.53.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Desjardins boosted their price objective on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$180.00 to C$182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$156.00 to C$165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$170.00 to C$180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$184.00 to C$188.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$173.00 to C$179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$171.00.

National Bank of Canada Trading Up 0.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of C$69.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is C$171.24 and its 200 day moving average is C$160.22.

National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 3rd. The financial services provider reported C$2.82 EPS for the quarter. National Bank of Canada had a net margin of 19.69% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The firm had revenue of C$3.70 billion during the quarter. Analysts anticipate that National Bank of Canada will post 10.8360791 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, February 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, February 1st were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is an increase from National Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 29th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. National Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is 46.08%.

About National Bank of Canada

National Bank of Canada is the sixth-largest Canadian bank. The bank offers integrated financial services, primarily in the province of Quebec as well as the city of Toronto. Operational segments include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and a financial markets group.