Scotiabank still has room to rise

Article Excerpt

Bank of Nova Scotia is up 93% from its February low of $24, but we think it can go even higher. The bank remains healthy, despite the worldwide credit crisis and recession. Plus, it has issued new preferred and common shares to bolster its balance sheet. The proceeds put it in a good position to make timely acquisitions and keep paying above-average dividends. BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $47.64 (Toronto symbol BNS: Shares outstanding: 992 million; Market cap: $47.3 billion; SI Rating: Above Average) is the third-largest of Canada’s five big banks, with assets of $513.6 billion. In the three months ended April 30, 2009, Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue rose 13.4%, to $3.6 billion from $3.2 billion. However, earnings per share fell 16.5%, to $0.81 from $0.97. That’s because the bank raised its loan-loss provisions by 219.6%. Bank of Nova Scotia has the largest international operations of the big-five banks, with a third of its earnings coming from overseas. It prefers to focus…