Brokerages Set The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) PT at $72.00

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $72.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BNS shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $50.46 on Friday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $43.67 and a 12-month high of $57.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $62.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.32.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were given a dividend of $0.7535 per share. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is currently 68.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BNS. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $413,000. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 50.3% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 15,483 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 5,180 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 17,905 shares of the bank’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 13,918 shares of the bank’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,529,000. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

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.