Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Rating Increased to Buy at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports.

BNS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. TD Securities raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.3 %

Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $56.30 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $70.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.24 and a 200-day moving average of $49.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $41.80 and a one year high of $56.44.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The firm’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 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.8% in the second quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 136,337 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,235,000 after buying an additional 14,379 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised 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 valued at $69,627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462,360 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $85,201,000 after acquiring an additional 509,120 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 5,380.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 3,972,234 shares of the bank’s stock worth $216,447,000 after purchasing an additional 3,899,760 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.