Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Upgraded to “Buy” at Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

BNS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Securities upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of BNS stock opened at $56.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $69.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $56.17.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were given a dividend of $0.768 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.47%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,990,868 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,361,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,195,604 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 10.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,640,471 shares of the bank’s stock worth $310,817,000 after buying an additional 524,496 shares in the last quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $619,000. Abel Hall LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 214,957 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,712,000 after buying an additional 46,421 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.