The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $72.00.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BNS. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Securities upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

NYSE:BNS opened at $53.71 on Thursday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $43.67 and a 12 month high of $57.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $54.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $66.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.08.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a $0.7535 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.61%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 72.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,588.2% during 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 in the last quarter. City State Bank purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the third quarter valued at $57,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 171.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,578 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 997 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the third quarter valued at $111,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the second quarter worth about $104,000. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.