Weiss Ratings Reaffirms "Buy (B-)" Rating for Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "Buy (B-)" rating for Bank of Nova Scotia, indicating confidence in the bank's performance.
• Royal Bank of Canada raised its target price for the bank's shares from $80.00 to $86.00, suggesting optimism about its future performance.
• Bank of Nova Scotia's stock recently experienced a 1.3% decline, trading at $63.35, with a significant trading volume of nearly 1.7 million shares.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS's stock had its "buy (b-)" rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on BNS. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE BNS traded down $0.83 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $63.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,699,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,731,746. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $78.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.16. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52 week low of $44.09 and a 52 week high of $65.52. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $61.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.95.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 26th. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.09. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 11.61%. The firm had revenue of $6.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4,643.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,012 shares of the bank's stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 8,822 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 54.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the bank's stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 134.3% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 53,015 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,514,000 after purchasing an additional 30,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 14.8% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,634 shares of the bank's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company's stock.

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.

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