Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $74.53 and last traded at $73.9780, with a volume of 90228 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.0%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.40, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.13.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, January 6th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is currently 78.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.