The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.74

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of 0.7415 per share by the bank on Monday, April 28th. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st.

Bank of Nova Scotia has raised its dividend payment by an average of 4.7% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Bank of Nova Scotia has a dividend payout ratio of 52.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Bank of Nova Scotia to earn $5.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.94 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.9%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of BNS traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $50.42. The stock had a trading volume of 636,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,854,680. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.67, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.07. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $43.67 and a 12 month high of $57.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on BNS. Cibc World Mkts lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Bank of America upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.50.

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.