The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$66.97.

Several brokerages have commented on BNS. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$62.00 to C$64.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$65.00 to C$67.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Desjardins lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$64.00 to C$68.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$63.00 to C$66.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$69.00 to C$74.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 2.1 %

BNS stock opened at C$64.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of C$78.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.96. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of C$55.20 and a 12 month high of C$70.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of C$66.33 and a 200 day moving average price of C$62.74.

Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported C$1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$1.61 by C$0.08. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 26.75%. The business had revenue of C$8.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$8.12 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.5752475 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.62%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.39%.

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.