Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $105.50.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Securities upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. National Bank Financial upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Friday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. TD raised Bank of Nova Scotia to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

NYSE BNS opened at $91.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $65.55 and a 1 year high of $96.85. The company has a market cap of $111.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $92.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.84.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 25th. The bank reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.11 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 13.91% and a return on equity of 16.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.19 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th were given a dividend of C$1.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 57.87%.

Bank of Nova Scotia declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, October 2nd that authorizes the company to buy back 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BNS. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,016,738,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 2nd quarter worth $709,837,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the second quarter valued at about $567,278,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,008,689 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $416,415,000 after acquiring an additional 154,541 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,024,708 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $348,263,000 after purchasing an additional 400,382 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Bank of Nova Scotia