Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) has received an average rating of "Hold" from nine analysts, with five holding and four recommending a buy.
• The bank's stock is currently trading at $63.94, with a 1-year price target set at $86.00 by Royal Bank of Canada following a recent upgrade.
• Despite quarterly earnings of $1.37 EPS surpassing estimates, the bank's revenue report was notably below expectations at $6.85 billion.

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the nine analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $86.00.

Several research firms have commented on BNS. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 38.4% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,175 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 40.7% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,211 shares of the bank's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE BNS traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.39. 1,335,582 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,949,935. The company has a market cap of $78.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $44.09 and a twelve month high of $64.38. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $57.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

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

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.