TD Securities Upgrades Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) to Buy

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS was upgraded by analysts at TD Securities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports.

Separately, Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 2.0 %

BNS traded up $1.03 on Monday, hitting $52.93. The company had a trading volume of 1,200,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,814,075. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $55.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.62. 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 (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 11,089 shares of the bank's stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 18,470 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,432 shares of the bank's stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $889,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the bank's stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.