Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Upgraded at National Bank Financial

National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

BNS has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. TD Securities upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Friday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE BNS opened at $92.35 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $88.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.11. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $61.69 and a fifty-two week high of $94.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.05. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 13.91%.The company had revenue of $7.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.14 per share. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BNS. Norges Bank bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,368,456,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,016,738,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $709,837,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $567,278,000. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 16,489,540 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,216,157,000 after acquiring an additional 5,461,052 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canada’s largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabank’s core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.