Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Upgraded to Equal Weight at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

BNS has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Securities upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $56.45 on Thursday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $41.80 and a fifty-two week high of $56.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $70.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.42 and a 200 day moving average of $49.43.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.53 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were given a dividend of $0.768 per share. This represents a $3.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is 74.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 65.9% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 42,028 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 16,700 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 177.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 40,714 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,106,000 after buying an additional 26,036 shares during the period. Natixis boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 166.3% during the first quarter. Natixis now owns 48,394 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,504,000 after buying an additional 30,219 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the first quarter valued at $264,000. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.3% in the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 22,677 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. 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.