Savvy acquisitions set to spur their dividends

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $69 (Toronto symbol BNS; Income-Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $82.8 billion; Dividend yield: 4.9%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.scotiabank.com) is the third-largest of Canada’s five big banks with assets of $946.7 billion.
Bank of Nova Scotia last raised its… Read More

BNS purchase targets key market

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $74 (Toronto symbol BNS; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $88.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.6; Dividend yield: 4.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.scotiabank.com) continues to expand its wealth management operations, which supply 12% of its total… Read More

Good time to buy more of this bank

Bank of Nova Scotia has recently announced several big strategic acquisitions. Still, buying new businesses to expand adds risk, and the bank will have to sell new shares to pay for them.
As a result, Scotiabank has dropped 4% in the past year, compared to share-price… Read More

BNS deal taps key niche

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $74.36 (Toronto symbol BNS; Shares o/s: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $89.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.4%) is the third largest bank in Canada.
It will now buy MD Financial Management, which sells wealth management services to Canadian medical doctors, their… Read More

Ameriprise Financial Inc. $45 – New York symbol AMP

AMERIPRISE FINANCIAL INC. $45 (New York symbol AMP; WSSF Rating: Average) provides wealth management, brokerage and insurance services through a nationwide network of over 12,000 advisors. It currently owns, manages or administers assets worth $428.1 billion.

In the three months ended December 31, 2005, Ameriprise’s income… Read More