Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average of $62.46

The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS - Get Free Report) NYSE: BNS's stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$62.46 and traded as high as C$68.19. Bank of Nova Scotia shares last traded at C$67.98, with a volume of 6,735,368 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BNS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$64.00 to C$65.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$65.00 to C$67.50 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$62.00 to C$64.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Desjardins upped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$66.00 to C$69.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of C$66.66.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is C$65.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$62.50. The stock has a market capitalization of C$82.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.96.

Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS - Get Free Report) NYSE: BNS last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported C$1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$1.61 by C$0.08. The company had revenue of C$8.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$8.12 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 26.75% and a return on equity of 10.20%. On average, analysts forecast that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.5794033 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia's payout ratio 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.