Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Price Target to $81.00

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) had its price target decreased by Royal Bank of Canada from $83.00 to $81.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the bank’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays raised Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. CIBC reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cibc World Mkts downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.50.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 1.2 %

BNS opened at $50.45 on Wednesday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $43.67 and a fifty-two week high of $57.07. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.79 and a 200-day moving average of $52.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $62.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.07.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.7415 dividend. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,438,129 shares of the bank’s stock worth $241,981,000 after buying an additional 660,097 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 48.3% in the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,563,594 shares of the bank’s stock worth $85,201,000 after buying an additional 509,120 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,744,062 shares of the bank’s stock worth $204,214,000 after buying an additional 150,247 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 580,664 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,673,000 after buying an additional 63,528 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 10,074,518 shares of the bank’s stock worth $550,729,000 after purchasing an additional 240,803 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.