Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Lowered to “Neutral” Rating by Bank of America

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) was downgraded by analysts at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Monday,Finviz reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. CIBC reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of BNS stock opened at $47.74 on Monday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.33. The company has a market cap of $59.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.11. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $43.68 and a 12-month high of $57.07.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter valued at $690,746,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,990,868 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,361,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,195,604 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,529,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,433,171 shares of the bank’s stock worth $406,103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,363,146 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,758,150,000 after buying an additional 969,488 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

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.