Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $86.00.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BNS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Affirmative Financial Network increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 7,927 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 14.3% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 39,998 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,586,000 after buying an additional 5,011 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter valued at $377,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.1% in the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 844,191 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,618,000 after buying an additional 41,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the third quarter worth about $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BNS opened at $68.95 on Friday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52 week low of $44.09 and a 52 week high of $68.97. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $65.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $85.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.17.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 26th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $6.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

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.