Two banks primed for dividend growth

Article Excerpt

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $77 (Toronto symbol BNS; Income-Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $92.4 billion; Dividend yield: 3.9%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.scotiabank.com) is the third-largest of Canada’s five big banks with assets of $887.0 billion. It last raised its quarterly dividend by 2.7% with the April 2017 payment, to $0.76 a share from $0.74. The new annual rate of $3.04 yields 3.9%. In the quarter ended January 31, 2017, Bank of Nova Scotia’s earnings rose 10.0%, to $1.95 billion from $1.77 billion a year earlier. Due to more shares outstanding, per-share earnings rose at a slower rate of 9.7%, to $1.58 from $1.44. In the quarter, earnings from Canadian banking operations (49% of the total) rose 12.1%. That’s partly due to a gain on the sale of some real estate. Low interest rates also continue to fuel demand for mortgages and other loans. The international business (28% of earnings) reported 14.1% higher profits, thanks to increased lending…