Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $81.00.

Several research firms have issued reports on BNS. Wall Street Zen lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Bank of America lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,248 shares of the bank's stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,925 shares of the bank's stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,399 shares of the bank's stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,860 shares of the bank's stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, Sara Bay Financial lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 6.2% during the first quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 5,021 shares of the bank's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.4%

BNS traded down $0.25 on Thursday, hitting $54.86. The company had a trading volume of 4,053,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,743,819. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.81. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $43.68 and a 12-month 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 stock has a market capitalization of $68.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.13.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last posted 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). Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 8.83% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The company had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.58 EPS. Bank of Nova Scotia's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.7996 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.51%.

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.