National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA) reached a new 52-week high on Friday after Desjardins raised their price target on the stock from C$175.00 to C$180.00. Desjardins currently has a buy rating on the stock. National Bank of Canada traded as high as C$175.95 and last traded at C$175.85, with a volume of 2053892 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$173.57.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on NA. CIBC lifted their price target on National Bank of Canada from C$174.00 to C$179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on National Bank of Canada from C$166.00 to C$184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on National Bank of Canada from C$172.00 to C$177.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on National Bank of Canada from C$153.00 to C$152.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on National Bank of Canada from C$160.00 to C$166.00 in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$165.83.

National Bank of Canada Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of C$161.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$150.31. The firm has a market capitalization of C$68.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 1.13.

National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 3rd. The financial services provider reported C$2.82 EPS for the quarter. National Bank of Canada had a net margin of 19.69% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The firm had revenue of C$3.70 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that National Bank of Canada will post 10.8360791 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, February 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, February 1st will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is a positive change from National Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 29th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. National Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

National Bank of Canada Company Profile

National Bank of Canada is the sixth-largest Canadian bank. The bank offers integrated financial services, primarily in the province of Quebec as well as the city of Toronto. Operational segments include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and a financial markets group.