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

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.00.

BNS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Bank of America downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Nova Scotia

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 121.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 639 shares of the bank's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the first quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 38.4% in the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,175 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of BNS stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $54.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,053,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,748,493. 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 cap of $68.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.88. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $43.68 and a 52-week high of $57.07.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

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

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.