Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $87.94 and last traded at $87.5980, with a volume of 109014 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $87.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BNS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.25.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.05. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 13.38%.The firm had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. Bank of Nova Scotia’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,625 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,373 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,193 shares of the bank’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,326 shares of the bank’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 261 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

Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canada’s largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabank’s core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.