Brokerages Set The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) PT at C$74.75

The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$75.82.

Several analysts have weighed in on BNS shares. UBS Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$72.00 to C$84.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$62.00 to C$65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Cormark decreased their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$68.00 to C$65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of BNS stock opened at C$78.91 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$73.46 and a 200 day moving average price of C$67.64. The firm has a market capitalization of C$97.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.97. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of C$56.83 and a 52-week high of C$79.16.

Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported C$1.63 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of C$1.63. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 25.38%. The firm had revenue of C$8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$8.50 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 7.1286267 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.26%.

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.