Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Break Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) shares crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.41 and traded as high as $93.84. Bank of Nova Scotia shares last traded at $93.3010, with a volume of 1,852,521 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD raised Bank of Nova Scotia to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. National Bank Financial upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Friday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, TD Securities upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.50.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $92.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.94. The company has a market capitalization of $113.43 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 25th. The bank reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.11 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 13.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were issued a C$1.14 dividend. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 6th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 57.87%.

Bank of Nova Scotia declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, October 2nd that allows the company to buy back 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Nova Scotia

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BNS. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 2,741,396 shares of the bank’s stock worth $249,296,000 after buying an additional 700,710 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 17.9% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 80,021 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,289,000 after buying an additional 12,168 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 38.5% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,528 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.8% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,359,916 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $125,041,000 after acquiring an additional 10,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 15.6% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 41,322 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,754,000 after acquiring an additional 5,591 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of Nova Scotia