Contrasting Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) and LINKBANCORP (NASDAQ:LNKB)

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) and LINKBANCORP (NASDAQ:LNKB) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Bank of Nova Scotia pays an annual dividend of $3.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. LINKBANCORP pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Bank of Nova Scotia pays out 89.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. LINKBANCORP pays out 31.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank of Nova Scotia has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Bank of Nova Scotia is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

49.1% of Bank of Nova Scotia shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.5% of LINKBANCORP shares are held by institutional investors. 37.5% of LINKBANCORP shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Bank of Nova Scotia and LINKBANCORP, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank of Nova Scotia	0	5	4	0	2.44
LINKBANCORP	0	0	2	0	3.00

Bank of Nova Scotia presently has a consensus target price of $81.00, suggesting a potential upside of 51.15%. LINKBANCORP has a consensus target price of $8.75, suggesting a potential upside of 27.37%. Given Bank of Nova Scotia’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Bank of Nova Scotia is more favorable than LINKBANCORP.

Risk & Volatility

Bank of Nova Scotia has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LINKBANCORP has a beta of 0.49, suggesting that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Bank of Nova Scotia and LINKBANCORP”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank of Nova Scotia	$35.13 billion	1.90	$5.70 billion	$3.41	15.72
LINKBANCORP	$110.14 million	2.33	$26.21 million	$0.96	7.16

Bank of Nova Scotia has higher revenue and earnings than LINKBANCORP. LINKBANCORP is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bank of Nova Scotia, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Bank of Nova Scotia and LINKBANCORP’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank of Nova Scotia	10.20%	11.56%	0.61%
LINKBANCORP	15.64%	9.89%	0.95%

Summary

Bank of Nova Scotia beats LINKBANCORP on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets segments. The company offers financial advice and solutions, and banking products, including debit and credit cards, chequing and saving accounts, investments, mortgages, loans, and insurance to individuals; and retail automotive financing solutions. It also provides business banking solutions comprising lending, deposit, cash management, and trade finance solutions to small, medium, and large businesses. In addition, it provides wealth management advice and solutions, including online brokerage, mobile investment, full-service brokerage, trust, private banking, and private investment counsel services; and retail mutual funds, exchange traded funds, liquid alternatives, and institutional funds. The Bank of Nova Scotia was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About LINKBANCORP

LINKBANCORP, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for The Gratz Bank, that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, nonprofit, and business customers in Pennsylvania. Its deposit products include demand, saving, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. The company also offers commercial real estate, commercial business, commercial real estate construction, land development, residential real estate, home equity, consumer, agricultural, and municipal loans. It also provides online banking, mobile banking, direct and remote deposit, and cash management services. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.