Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $86.00.

BNS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Saturday, September 27th.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $65.24 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $60.66 and its 200 day moving average is $54.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $44.09 and a twelve month high of $65.52. The company has a market capitalization of $80.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.16.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 26th. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.09. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 9.74%.The business had revenue of $6.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2,005.4% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 14,296 shares of the bank’s stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 13,617 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,801 shares of the bank’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 941,286 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,623,000 after buying an additional 5,085 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 79,462 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,392,000 after buying an additional 8,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 146.0% in the 1st quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 12,042 shares of the bank’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 7,146 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.