Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on BNS. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of BNS stock traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $54.35. The company had a trading volume of 1,815,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,728,019. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $51.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.84. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $43.68 and a one year high of $57.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.13.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 8.83%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,184,171 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,521,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,821,025 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 25,425,639 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,363,619,000 after acquiring an additional 434,771 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,966,078 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,017,933,000 after acquiring an additional 308,837 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.1% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 17,717,286 shares of the bank's stock worth $840,331,000 after purchasing an additional 362,572 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.5% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,158,112 shares of the bank's stock worth $718,670,000 after purchasing an additional 374,487 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.