Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $117.00.

BNS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:BNS opened at $81.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $53.72 and a 1 year high of $82.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.18.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.05. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 13.38%.The business had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canada’s largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabank’s core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.