The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$75.82.

BNS has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$62.00 to C$65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$65.00 to C$69.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. TD Securities raised their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$80.00 to C$82.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, National Bankshares increased their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$66.00 to C$78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of BNS stock opened at C$78.99 on Thursday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of C$56.83 and a fifty-two week high of C$79.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of C$73.64 and a 200 day moving average price of C$67.72. The stock has a market capitalization of C$97.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.97.

Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported C$1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of C$1.63. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 25.38%. The business had revenue of C$8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$8.50 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 7.1286267 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.26%.

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.