The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$76.73.

BNS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$65.00 to C$74.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from C$71.00 to C$84.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$82.00 to C$81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at C$77.09 on Monday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of C$60.68 and a 12-month high of C$80.14. The company has a market capitalization of C$95.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is C$75.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$69.32.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.50%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is 74.26%.

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.