The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.75

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 5th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a dividend of 0.7535 per share by the bank on Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th.

Bank of Nova Scotia has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.1% per year over the last three years. Bank of Nova Scotia has a dividend payout ratio of 59.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Bank of Nova Scotia to earn $5.68 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.94 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.8%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of BNS stock opened at $53.39 on Friday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $43.67 and a twelve month high of $57.07. The stock has a market cap of $66.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $54.48 and a 200 day moving average of $50.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BNS shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Securities upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

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.