The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$77.92.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BNS. Accountability Research set a C$82.00 price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Bank of America upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from C$73.00 to C$90.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, TD Securities reduced their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$82.00 to C$81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

BNS stock opened at C$73.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of C$91.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$76.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$70.77. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of C$60.68 and a 1 year high of C$80.14.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.26%.

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.