Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $78.28 and last traded at $77.1780, with a volume of 1378335 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $77.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BNS shares. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of 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 four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.2%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.09. The firm has a market cap of $93.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.11. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 12.10% and a net margin of 10.60%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 6th were given a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 6th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. 49.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

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.