TD Securities Upgrades Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) to Buy

Key Points

• TD Securities upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia to “buy” from “hold,” joining other analysts’ positive views. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $117 price target.
• BNS shares rose 6.5% to $92.48 in Tuesday trading, reaching a new 52-week high and bringing its market capitalization to approximately $112.7 billion.
• The bank’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $1.47 versus the $1.42 consensus and revenue of $7.24 billion. Institutional investors own approximately 49.1% of the company’s shares.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS was upgraded by investment analysts at TD Securities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Friday. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 6.5%

Shares of BNS stock traded up $5.62 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $92.48. 1,976,100 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,386,451. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $58.77 and a fifty-two week high of $92.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $112.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.11.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.05. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 13.38%.The company had revenue of $7.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,237,537 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,221,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169,073 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 18,674,585 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,379,120,000 after purchasing an additional 310,564 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,368,456,000. FIL Ltd boosted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,259,989 shares of the bank's stock worth $923,232,000 after buying an additional 799,474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Bank of Nova Scotia

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly profit beat expectations. Scotiabank reported approximately $2.95 billion in third-quarter profit, up from $2.53 billion a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share reached $2.28, ahead of analysts’ estimate of about $2.10. A separate reported figure showed EPS of $1.64 versus consensus of $1.53, reflecting differences between adjusted and reported measures. Scotiabank posts record quarter as capital markets surge lifts profit past estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Capital markets provided a major earnings boost. Elevated market volatility supported stronger-than-expected trading and investment-banking activity, helping the global banking and markets division deliver a record result. Bank of Nova Scotia beats profit estimates boosted by capital markets and business performance
• Positive Sentiment: Growth was broad-based. Wealth management also posted a record result, while the bank said all major business lines contributed to the earnings improvement. Revenue increased 11.1% year over year, and higher interest income provided additional support. Scotiabank Earnings Lifted by Record Result in Wealth Management
• Neutral Sentiment: New business credit-card product. Scotiabank launched a no-fee Visa card offering Canadian business owners 1% cash back. The product could support future customer acquisition and payments revenue, but its near-term financial impact is likely limited. Scotiabank Launches New No Fee Visa Credit Card

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

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.

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