Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• The Bank of Nova Scotia's stock reached a new 52-week high of C$88.81 during trading, closing at C$88.54 with over 1.15 million shares exchanged.
• Equities analysts have raised their price targets for the bank, with Canaccord Genuity setting the highest target at C$90.00, while the consensus target stands at C$85.85.
• Additionally, the bank announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.10 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 5.0% and a payout ratio of 81.84%.

Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS - Get Free Report) NYSE: BNS reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as C$88.81 and last traded at C$88.54, with a volume of 1155562 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$88.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BNS. CIBC lifted their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$90.00 to C$93.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$85.00 to C$78.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$78.00 to C$88.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$80.00 to C$86.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Desjardins raised their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$79.00 to C$85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of C$85.85.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 1.3%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$79.72 and a 200-day moving average of C$73.55. The company has a market capitalization of C$109.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.35.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. This is a boost from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia's payout ratio is presently 81.84%.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia is a global financial services provider. The bank has five business segments: Canadian banking, international banking, global wealth management, global banking and markets, and other. It offers a range of advice, products, and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets.