Topic: How To Invest

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $63.67 – Toronto symbol BNS

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $63.67 (Toronto symbol BNS; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $77.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.2%, www.scotiabank.com) was our #1 pick for 2014.

The stock hit a high of $74.93 in November 2014. It has moved down lately with stock markets, but it’s still up almost 8%, including dividends.

Bank of Nova Scotia is the third-largest of Canada’s five big banks, with $805.7 billion of assets.

TD Bank (see left) has looked to the U.S. for growth, while Bank of Nova Scotia has focused on emerging markets.

The bank now gets 34% of its revenue from its international division, which provides financial services in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and other emerging nations.

In the bank’s 2014 fiscal year, which ended October 31, 2014, its earnings per share rose 10.6%, to $5.72 from $5.17 in 2013. Revenue gained 10.8%, to $23.6 billion from $21.3 billion.

There’s still room for the bank to expand throughout Latin America and Asia, especially as their growing middle classes look for stable deposit and consumer-lending services.

That should keep boosting Bank of Nova Scotia’s earnings and letting it raise its dividend. The stock trades at 10.9 times forecast 2015 earnings of $5.84 share. The shares yield 4.2%.

Bank of Nova Scotia is a buy.

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