Analysts Set The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Target Price at $81.00

Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.00.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BNS. Bank of America lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. CIBC reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BNS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the 4th 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 during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 25,425,639 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,363,619,000 after purchasing an additional 434,771 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,966,078 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,017,933,000 after purchasing an additional 308,837 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter valued at about $690,746,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 10,259,279 shares of the bank's stock valued at $551,766,000 after buying an additional 184,761 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BNS traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $46.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,354,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,681,217. The company's 50 day moving average is $48.57 and its 200-day moving average is $51.70. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $43.68 and a 12-month high of $57.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $58.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.02.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.7415 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.33%. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.05%.

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.