Brokerages Set The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Target Price at $81.00

Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, 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 objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $81.00.

BNS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. CIBC reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:BNS traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $53.59. 2,438,449 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,701,044. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.08. The company has a market cap of $66.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.11. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $43.68 and a 12 month high of $57.07.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.98 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 10.20%. The company's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.7996 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.97%. This is a boost from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia's payout ratio is presently 89.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,095,285 shares of the bank's stock valued at $58,839,000 after acquiring an additional 77,820 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 98.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the bank's stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 1,556 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,438 shares of the bank's stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $219,000. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.