Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$131.90 and last traded at C$130.43, with a volume of 131504 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$129.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BNS shares. TD Securities raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$117.00 to C$129.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from C$128.00 to C$142.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Bank of America raised their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$131.00 to C$134.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$137.00 to C$139.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$129.50.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$159.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is C$125.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$113.49.

Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 25th. The bank reported C$2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The business had revenue of C$10.54 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 7.1286267 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $1.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 7th. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is currently 58.04%.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

Scotiabank’s vision is to be our clients’ most trusted financial partner and deliver sustainable, profitable growth. Guided by our purpose: ‘for every future,’ we help our clients, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products, and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With assets of approximately $1.5 trillion (as at January 31, 2026), Scotiabank is one of the largest banks in North America by assets, and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS).