National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$201.08.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on National Bank of Canada from C$205.00 to C$224.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their price target on National Bank of Canada from C$209.00 to C$221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on National Bank of Canada from C$172.00 to C$188.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. TD lifted their price objective on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$182.00 to C$202.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$206.50 to C$203.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 28th.

National Bank of Canada Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of National Bank of Canada stock opened at C$228.78 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$211.18 and a 200 day moving average of C$190.67. National Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of C$139.29 and a 12 month high of C$228.78. The firm has a market cap of C$88.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 1.35.

National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The financial services provider reported C$3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. National Bank of Canada had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.77%. The firm had revenue of C$3.91 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that National Bank of Canada will post 10.8360791 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, August 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 29th. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from National Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. National Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.83%.

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.