National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA) Raised to "Moderate Buy" at Cormark

Cormark upgraded shares of National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA - Free Report) from a hold rating to a moderate buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. CIBC upped their price target on National Bank of Canada from C$135.00 to C$141.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Securities decreased their target price on National Bank of Canada from C$140.00 to C$138.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$134.00 to C$145.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of National Bank of Canada from C$135.00 to C$142.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on National Bank of Canada from C$129.00 to C$154.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$137.20.

National Bank of Canada Stock Performance

NA stock traded down C$2.58 during trading on Wednesday, hitting C$128.79. 1,909,848 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,558,805. The company has a 50-day moving average of C$133.83 and a 200-day moving average of C$125.78. The firm has a market capitalization of C$43.84 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 1.12. National Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of C$98.26 and a 1 year high of C$141.15.

National Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, February 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a $1.14 dividend. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. This is a boost from National Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. National Bank of Canada's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.84%.

Insider Transactions at National Bank of Canada

In other National Bank of Canada news, Senior Officer Brigitte Hébert sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$132.46, for a total transaction of C$52,984.00. Also, Director Yvon Charest purchased 285 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$133.71 per share, with a total value of C$38,107.35. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

About National Bank of Canada

National Bank of Canada provides financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional clients, and governments in Canada and internationally. It operates through four segments: Personal and Commercial, Wealth Management, Financial Markets, and U.S. Specialty Finance and International. The Personal and Commercial segment offers personal banking services, including transaction solutions, mortgage loans and home equity lines of credit, consumer loans, payment solutions, and savings and investment solutions; various insurance products; and commercial banking services, such as credit, and deposit, investment solutions, international trade, foreign exchange transactions, payroll, cash management, insurance, electronic transactions, and complimentary services.