Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Raised to "Buy" at Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on BNS. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Securities raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BNS traded up $0.88 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.12. The stock had a trading volume of 1,918,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,788,986. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $53.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $41.80 and a one year high of $56.17. The company has a market capitalization of $69.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.05.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion during 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%. Bank of Nova Scotia's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.47%. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sigma Planning Corp increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 11,089 shares of the bank's stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 18,470 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 3,357 shares of the bank's stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 19,493 shares of the bank's stock worth $889,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the bank's stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 288 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.