Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

BNS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $68.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.33.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:BNS traded up $0.70 on Monday, reaching $48.14. The stock had a trading volume of 1,657,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,381,455. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.39 and a 200 day moving average of $49.28. The stock has a market cap of $58.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.02. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $45.25 and a 12-month high of $57.25.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 29th. The bank reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.45. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 13.31%. The business had revenue of $8.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,996,068 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,940,238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,299 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 16,557,752 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $809,940,000 after buying an additional 659,492 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 13,204,757 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $660,465,000 after purchasing an additional 179,482 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $588,957,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 9,462,958 shares of the bank’s stock worth $476,587,000 after buying an additional 1,072,203 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 43.18% of the company’s stock.

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 in four segments: Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets.