National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Desjardins raised their price target on the stock from C$175.00 to C$180.00. Desjardins currently has a buy rating on the stock. National Bank of Canada traded as high as C$175.95 and last traded at C$175.85, with a volume of 2053892 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$173.57.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$161.00 to C$181.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$153.00 to C$152.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$149.00 to C$163.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Barclays upped their target price on National Bank of Canada from C$147.00 to C$158.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on National Bank of Canada from C$166.00 to C$184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, National Bank of Canada presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$165.83.

National Bank of Canada Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of C$161.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$150.31. The stock has a market capitalization of C$68.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 1.13.

National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The financial services provider reported C$2.82 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$3.70 billion during the quarter. National Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 19.69%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that National Bank of Canada will post 10.8360791 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, February 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, February 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from National Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 29th. National Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is 46.08%.

About National Bank of Canada

National Bank of Canada is the sixth-largest Canadian bank. The bank offers integrated financial services, primarily in the province of Quebec as well as the city of Toronto. Operational segments include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and a financial markets group.