Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Stock

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) had its price target boosted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $98.00 to $117.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price points to a potential upside of 46.46% from the company’s previous close.

BNS has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of BNS traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $79.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,083,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,295,969. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $52.44 and a one year high of $82.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.23.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The bank reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 12.40%.The company had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.76 EPS. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,237,537 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,221,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169,073 shares during the period. Canerector Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 8,899.0% in 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 period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 18,674,585 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,379,120,000 after purchasing an additional 310,564 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,368,456,000. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 16,489,540 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,216,157,000 after purchasing an additional 5,461,052 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Bank of Nova Scotia

Here are the key news stories impacting Bank of Nova Scotia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of Nova Scotia raised its quarterly dividend after delivering a strong Q2 performance, signaling management confidence in the bank’s outlook. Canada’s Bank of Nova Scotia raises dividend after strong quarter
• Positive Sentiment: The company reported Q2 earnings of $2.02 per share versus estimates of $1.42, with revenue also topping expectations and rising 8.3% year over year, a clear catalyst for the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia Q2 2026 Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Reports from Reuters, the Financial Post, and other outlets say the earnings beat was driven by stronger interest income and solid performance in Canadian banking and wealth segments. Canada’s Scotiabank posts rise in quarterly profit on interest income boost
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentary pieces are comparing Scotiabank with other Canadian banks and framing it as a dividend-focused holding, which may support investor interest but is not a direct earnings driver. Bank of Nova Scotia vs. CIBC: The Dividend Pick I’d Hold for 2026

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.