Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• A stock upgrade for Bank of Nova Scotia from "sell" to "hold" was issued by analysts at Wall Street Zen.
• The Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target for Bank of Nova Scotia from $80.00 to $86.00, indicating a positive outlook among analysts.
• As of Friday, Bank of Nova Scotia's stock is trading at $62.47, with a 52-week range between $44.09 and $62.69.

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

Separately, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of BNS stock traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $62.75. 880,554 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,992,602. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $44.09 and a 12-month high of $62.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $77.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $56.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.25.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 26th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.09. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 9.74%.The firm had revenue of $6.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Nova Scotia

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $838,738,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 255.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,174,780 shares of the bank's stock worth $482,590,000 after purchasing an additional 7,315,915 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 83.4% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,148,255 shares of the bank's stock worth $726,704,000 after purchasing an additional 5,979,338 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 141.1% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 8,364,411 shares of the bank's stock valued at $396,650,000 after acquiring an additional 4,894,754 shares during the period. Finally, Murchinson Ltd. purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter valued at $203,953,000. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company's stock.

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.