Royal Bank Of Canada Increases Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Price Target to $97.00

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) had its target price hoisted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $86.00 to $97.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price points to a potential upside of 37.72% from the company’s previous close.

BNS has been the subject of several other research reports. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.2%

BNS stock opened at $70.43 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.13. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $44.09 and a 12 month high of $71.09. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 12.10%. The firm had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 56,446 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter worth approximately $259,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.2% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 71,286 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,380,000 after acquiring an additional 7,208 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 255.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,174,780 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $482,590,000 after acquiring an additional 7,315,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,184,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,521,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821,025 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

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.