The Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.74 (NYSE:BNS)

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.7415 per share by the bank on Monday, April 28th. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st.

Bank of Nova Scotia has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.7% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Bank of Nova Scotia has a payout ratio of 53.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Bank of Nova Scotia to earn $5.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 52.3%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of BNS opened at $47.74 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.33. Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $43.68 and a twelve month high of $57.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BNS. CIBC reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

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.