Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Upgraded at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, TD Securities raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BNS opened at $56.29 on Tuesday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $41.80 and a 12 month high of $56.71. The business’s 50 day moving average is $53.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.34. The company has a market cap of $70.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.768 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.46%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 11,089 shares of the bank’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 18,470 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 3,357 shares of the bank’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.5% during the second quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 19,493 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $889,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets segments.