Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as C$99.37 and last traded at C$98.32, with a volume of 2375591 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$96.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BNS. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$93.00 to C$99.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Raymond James Financial set a C$108.00 target price on Bank of Nova Scotia and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$78.00 to C$88.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$80.00 to C$86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$98.00 to C$100.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$91.77.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.3%

The stock has a market capitalization of C$122.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$92.50 and a 200-day moving average price of C$83.29.

Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS) (NYSE:BNS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported C$1.93 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$9.77 billion during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 17.68%. Research analysts forecast that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 7.1286267 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 7th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.84%.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia is a global financial services provider. The bank has five business segments: Canadian banking, international banking, global wealth management, global banking and markets, and other. It offers a range of advice, products, and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets.