The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS - Get Free Report) NYSE: BNS have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$66.97.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$69.00 to C$74.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Desjardins raised their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$64.00 to C$68.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. TD Securities raised their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$64.00 to C$65.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$63.00 to C$66.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, CIBC lowered their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$66.00 to C$64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 8th.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of BNS stock traded down C$1.44 on Wednesday, reaching C$67.04. 7,462,712 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,177,079. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$66.11 and a 200 day moving average price of C$62.62. The stock has a market cap of C$81.79 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.96. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of C$55.20 and a one year high of C$70.40.

Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS - Get Free Report) NYSE: BNS last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported C$1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of C$1.61 by C$0.08. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 26.75%. The firm had revenue of C$8.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of C$8.12 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.6239067 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.39%.

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.