Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS – Get Rating) (TSE:BNS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts who currently cover the stock, reports MarketBeat.com. Four equity research analysts rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three gave the company a buy recommendation. The 12-month average price target among brokers who have reported on the stock over the past year is $93.90.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised its price target on Bank of Nova Scotia shares from C$97.00 to C$99.00 in a Wednesday, March 2 research note. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia shares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a Thursday, Feb. 24 research note. Desjardins cut its price target on Bank of Nova Scotia shares from C$96.00 to C$94.00 in a research note on Friday. TD Securities raised its price target on Bank of Nova Scotia shares from C$88.00 to C$90.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, CIBC downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia shares from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a Monday, April 11 research note.

A number of large investors have recently changed their holdings of BNS. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2,750.0% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 342 shares of the bank worth $25,000 after buying 330 additional shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 178.0% in the first quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 353 shares of the bank worth $25,000 after buying 226 additional shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the first quarter valued at $28,000. West Bancorporation Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors hold 45.01% of the company’s shares.

NYSE: BNS opened at $67.06 on Friday. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $59.05 and a 12-month high of $74.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt ratio of 0.44. The company has a 50-day moving average of $67.19 and a 200-day moving average of $69.21. The company has a market cap of $80.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a growth price-to-earnings ratio of 1.59, and a beta of 0.94.

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS – Get Rating) (TSE:BNS) last released quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 25. The bank reported earnings per share of $2.18 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.65. The Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 25.54% and a return on equity of 15.22%. The company posted revenue of $7.94 billion in the quarter, versus analyst estimates of $7.87 billion. In the same quarter last year, the company posted EPS of $1.50. The company’s revenue for the quarter increased 2.7% year over year. On average, research analysts expect Bank of Nova Scotia to post earnings per share of 6.53 for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 27. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 5 will receive a dividend of $0.801 per share. This is a positive change from the Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 1. This represents an annualized dividend of $3.20 and a dividend yield of 4.78%. The Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is 50.39%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Corporate Profile (Get a rating)

The Bank of Nova Scotia offers a variety of banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, as well as internationally. It operates through four segments: Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management and Global Banking and Markets.

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