National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$135.36.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$148.00 to C$152.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$136.00 to C$138.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Desjardins dropped their price objective on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$140.00 to C$136.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$135.00 to C$131.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of National Bank of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th.

National Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of TSE NA traded up C$1.23 during trading on Monday, reaching C$138.81. 3,316,858 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,935,572. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of C$128.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$125.88. The stock has a market capitalization of C$54.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31, a P/E/G ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 1.12. National Bank of Canada has a 52-week low of C$106.67 and a 52-week high of C$141.15.

National Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $4.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. This is an increase from National Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. National Bank of Canada's payout ratio is currently 39.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at National Bank of Canada

In related news, Director Yvon Charest acquired 362 shares of National Bank of Canada stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$127.93 per share, for a total transaction of C$46,310.66. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

National Bank of Canada Company Profile

National Bank of Canada provides financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional clients, and governments in Canada and internationally. It operates through four segments: Personal and Commercial, Wealth Management, Financial Markets, and U.S. Specialty Finance and International. The Personal and Commercial segment offers personal banking services, including transaction solutions, mortgage loans and home equity lines of credit, consumer loans, payment solutions, and savings and investment solutions; various insurance products; and commercial banking services, such as credit, and deposit, investment solutions, international trade, foreign exchange transactions, payroll, cash management, insurance, electronic transactions, and complimentary services.