Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Upgraded to Strong-Buy by Cibc World Mkts

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) was upgraded by stock analysts at Cibc World Mkts from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BNS opened at $53.96 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $39.79 and a fifty-two week high of $54.41. The stock has a market cap of $66.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.97.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,862,189 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,478,304,000 after acquiring an additional 891,157 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,841,901 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $970,577,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,541 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 17,015,877 shares of the bank’s stock worth $881,082,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361,136 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,091,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $690,438,000 after purchasing an additional 683,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 17.6% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 14,563,337 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $753,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,178,633 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.