Topic: Dividend Stocks

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $58 – Toronto symbol BNS

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $58 (Toronto symbol BNS; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $69.6billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.4; Dividend yield: 3.9%;TSI Network Rating: Above Average;www.scotiabank.com) recently bought ING Direct, which offers a wide variety of no-fee banking services, mainly over the Internet. ING Direct has1.8 million customers and $30 billion of deposits.

At $3.1 billion, this was the biggest purchase in the bank’s history. The price is also equal to 48% of the $6.5 billion that it earned in fiscal 2012. That’s up 21.3% from $5.3 billion in 2011. Earnings per share rose 15.2%, to $5.22 from $4.53, on more shares outstanding. Revenue rose 13.8%, to $19.7billion from $17.3 billion.

Earnings at the Canadian division (30% of the total) rose 16%, thanks to strong loan demand and lower loan-loss provisions. International earnings (28%) rose18%, partly due to its purchase of 51% of Colombia’s fifth largest bank.

The global banking and markets division (24%) saw its earnings rise 19% on stronger demand for bonds. Earnings from wealth management (18%)fell 7%. If you disregard an investment gain in 2011, earnings would have risen 18%.

The bank sold new shares to help pay for ING Direct. That will likely cut its 2013 per-share earnings to $5.09. The stock trades at 11.4 times that estimate. The $2.28dividend yields 3.9%.

Bank of Nova Scotia is a buy.

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