Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by Bank of America

Bank of America cut shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. CIBC reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Bank of Nova Scotia stock traded down $1.72 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $46.65. 1,429,431 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,662,462. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $43.68 and a 1-year high of $57.07. The firm has a market cap of $58.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $49.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.7415 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.36%. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter valued at $690,746,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.6% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,990,868 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,361,752,000 after buying an additional 2,195,604 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter worth about $96,529,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,433,171 shares of the bank's stock worth $406,103,000 after buying an additional 1,792,700 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,363,146 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,758,150,000 after acquiring an additional 969,488 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.