Still our favourite bank

Article Excerpt

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $49 (Toronto symbol BNS; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.1 billion; Market cap: $53.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 4.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.scotiabank.com) remains our top pick among Canada’s big five banks. That’s mainly because it continues to expand in fast-growing regions like Latin America, South America and Asia. Its international banking division accounts for 26% of its earnings. In the year ended October 31, 2011, the bank earned $5.3 billion. That’s up 21.4% from $4.3 billion in 2010. Earnings per share rose 18.2%, to $4.62 from $3.91, on more shares outstanding. Revenue rose 11.5%, to a record $17.3 billion from $15.5 billion. Strong gains at its international and wealth-management operations offset slower growth at its Canadian banking and securities-trading divisions. Earnings in 2012 should rise to $4.82 a share. The stock trades at just 10.2 times that figure. The $2.08 dividend yields 4.2%. The bank paid out 44% of its earnings as…