Bank of America Downgrades Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) to Neutral

Bank of America downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BNS. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, CIBC reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $47.44 on Monday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $43.68 and a fifty-two week high of $57.07. The company has a market capitalization of $59.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $49.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.7415 per share. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 82.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,588.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 861 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 22,329 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,217,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the third quarter valued at about $258,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.9% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 153,849 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,390,000 after acquiring an additional 11,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Murchinson Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter worth about $249,000. 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.