The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS - Get Free Report) NYSE: BNS have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$74.75.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from C$73.00 to C$90.00 in a report on Tuesday. National Bankshares upped their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$66.00 to C$78.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$65.00 to C$69.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$62.00 to C$65.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from C$71.00 to C$84.00 in a research report on Tuesday.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of TSE BNS opened at C$78.71 on Thursday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of C$56.83 and a 1 year high of C$78.99. The firm's 50-day moving average is C$73.12 and its 200-day moving average is C$67.40. The firm has a market capitalization of C$97.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.97.

Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS - Get Free Report) NYSE: BNS last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported C$1.63 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of C$1.63. The firm had revenue of C$8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$8.50 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 25.38% and a return on equity of 9.49%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 7.1286267 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia's payout ratio is 74.26%.

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.