Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) Competitors

Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) and Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) are both large-cap financial services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Is BNS or RY a better dividend stock?

Bank of Nova Scotia pays an annual dividend of C$4.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Royal Bank of Canada pays an annual dividend of C$5.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Bank of Nova Scotia pays out 67.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Royal Bank of Canada pays out 49.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Which has better earnings and valuation, BNS or RY?

Royal Bank of Canada has higher revenue and earnings than Bank of Nova Scotia. Bank of Nova Scotia is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Royal Bank of Canada, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank of Nova Scotia	C$43.73B	2.23	C$7.73B	C$6.33	12.59
Royal Bank of Canada	C$57.52B	4.69	C$16.24B	C$11.48	16.61

Is BNS or RY more profitable?

Royal Bank of Canada has a net margin of 28.23% compared to Bank of Nova Scotia's net margin of 17.68%. Royal Bank of Canada's return on equity of 13.27% beat Bank of Nova Scotia's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank of Nova Scotia	17.68%	9.64%	0.55%
Royal Bank of Canada	28.23%	13.27%	0.80%

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of BNS or RY?

51.1% of Bank of Nova Scotia shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.5% of Royal Bank of Canada shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Bank of Nova Scotia shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to BNS or RY?

In the previous week, Bank of Nova Scotia had 1 more articles in the media than Royal Bank of Canada. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Bank of Nova Scotia and 10 mentions for Royal Bank of Canada. Royal Bank of Canada's average media sentiment score of 0.64 beat Bank of Nova Scotia's score of 0.43 indicating that Royal Bank of Canada is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Bank of Nova Scotia	1 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Royal Bank of Canada	1 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, BNS or RY?

Bank of Nova Scotia has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Royal Bank of Canada has a beta of 0.84, indicating that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate BNS or RY?

Bank of Nova Scotia presently has a consensus price target of C$80.62, suggesting a potential upside of 1.15%. Royal Bank of Canada has a consensus price target of C$190.54, suggesting a potential downside of 0.06%. Given Bank of Nova Scotia's higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Bank of Nova Scotia is more favorable than Royal Bank of Canada.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank of Nova Scotia	0 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43
Royal Bank of Canada	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Summary

Royal Bank of Canada beats Bank of Nova Scotia on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.