Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Stock Rating Upgraded by Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on BNS. Bank of America raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Securities raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

BNS stock opened at $56.12 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $69.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.05. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $41.80 and a 12-month high of $56.17. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.25.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were paid a $0.768 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.47%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 74.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,388.9% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 536 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,127.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 581 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted 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 valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 102.1% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

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.