Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Price Target Raised to $106.00

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) had its price objective raised by Royal Bank Of Canada from $97.00 to $106.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on BNS. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

BNS stock opened at $75.76 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $44.09 and a one year high of $78.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $74.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.50.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The bank reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The business had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 7th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 7th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Canerector Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,745,356,000 after acquiring an additional 26,697,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter worth about $1,368,456,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 83.4% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,148,255 shares of the bank’s stock worth $726,704,000 after purchasing an additional 5,979,338 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 16,489,540 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,216,157,000 after purchasing an additional 5,461,052 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,120.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,556,295 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $262,284,000 after purchasing an additional 3,445,856 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

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.