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

Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $81.00.

BNS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, CIBC restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter worth $690,746,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter worth about $96,529,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,433,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $406,103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,792,700 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 907.4% in the first quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,124,324 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012,715 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,363,146 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,758,150,000 after purchasing an additional 969,488 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BNS opened at $50.09 on Wednesday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $43.68 and a 12 month high of $57.07. The firm has a market cap of $62.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.23.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a $0.7415 dividend. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.92%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 83.05%.

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.