Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $74.53 and last traded at $73.9780, with a volume of 90228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BNS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $68.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 12.10%. The company had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 6th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.61%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Nova Scotia

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Motco raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.2% during the third quarter. Motco now owns 14,832 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.0% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 18,998 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the bank’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.9% in the second quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 7,097 shares of the bank’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.6% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,373 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canada’s largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabank’s core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.