Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Stock Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS)’s stock price passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.41 and traded as high as $93.84. Bank of Nova Scotia shares last traded at $93.3010, with a volume of 1,852,521 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on BNS. TD upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Friday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. TD Securities raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.50.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $92.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.14.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 25th. The bank reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $7.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.11 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 13.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were given a C$1.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.87%.

Bank of Nova Scotia announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, October 2nd that permits the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Nova Scotia

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter valued at $535,000. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 26,821 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,436,000 after acquiring an additional 2,515 shares during the last quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 51.8% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,190 shares of the bank’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Family Office LLC lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 55.2% during the 3rd quarter. OneAscent Family Office LLC now owns 4,807 shares of the bank’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 1,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 94.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,245,072 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $292,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574,246 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

The Bank of Nova Scotia, operating as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational financial institution founded in Halifax in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto. It serves individuals, businesses, and institutional clients through banking and financial services. Its main activities include Canadian and international personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and global banking and markets. Products and services include deposit accounts, mortgages, loans, credit cards, investment and financial advice, and corporate banking and capital-markets services.