Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Upgraded 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 research report report published on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on BNS. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. TD Securities upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of BNS stock opened at $56.29 on Tuesday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $41.80 and a fifty-two week high of $56.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.34.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. Bank of Nova Scotia’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were given a $0.768 dividend. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BNS. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.8% during the second quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 136,337 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,235,000 after purchasing an additional 14,379 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2,455.8% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,521,906 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,627,000 after buying an additional 1,462,360 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,563,594 shares of the bank’s stock worth $85,201,000 after buying an additional 509,120 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,091,880 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $690,438,000 after acquiring an additional 683,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 5,380.9% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 3,972,234 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $216,447,000 after acquiring an additional 3,899,760 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.