The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$79.09.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BNS shares. Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Accountability Research set a C$82.00 target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$83.00 to C$81.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. National Bankshares lifted their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$66.00 to C$78.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$72.00 to C$84.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of BNS opened at C$71.82 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of C$74.15 and a 200-day moving average of C$73.00. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of C$60.68 and a one year high of C$80.14. The company has a market cap of C$88.01 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.97.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 67.00%.

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.