Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The bank reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05, Zacks reports. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 10.20%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $50.60 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $63.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $43.67 and a 12 month high of $57.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $51.95 and its 200-day moving average is $52.36.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a dividend of $0.7535 per share. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.96%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 68.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BNS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

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.