The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$66.97.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$63.00 to C$66.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Desjardins boosted their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$64.00 to C$68.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. TD Securities raised their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$64.00 to C$65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. National Bankshares lifted their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$66.00 to C$67.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, CIBC dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$66.00 to C$64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 8th.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

TSE BNS opened at C$64.08 on Wednesday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of C$55.20 and a 1-year high of C$70.40. The company has a market cap of C$78.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is C$66.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$62.74.

Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported C$1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.61 by C$0.08. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 26.75%. The company had revenue of C$8.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$8.12 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.5752475 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.62%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.39%.

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.