Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday.

BNS has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America cut shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. 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, CIBC reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.6%

BNS stock opened at $53.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $66.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41, a P/E/G 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $49.10 and its 200 day moving average is $51.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.08). Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 10.20%. The company had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be given a $0.7996 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.97%. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 89.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BNS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter worth approximately $690,746,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 255.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,174,780 shares of the bank’s stock worth $482,590,000 after buying an additional 7,315,915 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 141.1% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 8,364,411 shares of the bank’s stock worth $396,650,000 after buying an additional 4,894,754 shares during the last quarter. Murchinson Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,953,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,184,171 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,521,621,000 after buying an additional 1,821,025 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.