The Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.74 (NYSE:BNS)

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of 0.7415 per share by the bank on Monday, April 28th. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st.

Bank of Nova Scotia has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.7% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Bank of Nova Scotia has a dividend payout ratio of 52.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Bank of Nova Scotia to earn $5.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.94 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.9%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of BNS stock traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $50.42. 636,883 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,854,680. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.38. The stock has a market cap of $62.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.07. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $43.67 and a 12-month high of $57.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. TD Securities raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.50.

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.