The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) Receives C$93.85 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$93.85.

BNS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$95.00 to C$97.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. National Bankshares set a C$81.00 price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$93.00 to C$98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$98.00 to C$100.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Desjardins lifted their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$100.00 to C$104.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at C$101.23 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is C$96.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$87.11. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of C$62.57 and a 52-week high of C$102.02. The firm has a market cap of C$126.09 billion, a PE ratio of 17.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.35.

Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported C$1.93 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$9.77 billion during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 17.68%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 7.1286267 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 7th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 76.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Walsh sold 3,716 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$100.62, for a total value of C$373,903.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$143,886.60. This represents a 72.21% decrease in their position. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia is a global financial services provider. The bank has five business segments: Canadian banking, international banking, global wealth management, global banking and markets, and other. It offers a range of advice, products, and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. The bank’s international operations span numerous countries and are more concentrated in Central and South America.