The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.74

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.7415 per share by the bank on Monday, April 28th. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st.

Bank of Nova Scotia has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.7% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Bank of Nova Scotia has a payout ratio of 52.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Bank of Nova Scotia to earn $5.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.94 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.9%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BNS opened at $50.45 on Thursday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $43.67 and a fifty-two week high of $57.07. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on BNS shares. Cibc World Mkts cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. CIBC reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays raised Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.50.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

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.