BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $58.80 - Toronto symbol BNS

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $58.80 (Toronto symbol BNS: Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $70.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Div. yield: 3.9%, www.scotiabank.com) is the third-largest of Canada’s five big banks, with assets of $668.0 billion.

The bank earned $1.18 a share in its fiscal fourth-quarter ended October 31, 2012. That’s up 21.6% from $0.97 a share a year earlier. Revenue rose 15.1%, to $4.9 billion from $4.2 billion.

Higher demand for loans and an increase in deposits pushed up the Canadian banking division’s earnings by 14.8%. This includes the contribution of ING Direct, which Bank of Nova Scotia bought for $3.1 billion late last year. ING Direct offers a wide variety of no-fee banking services, mainly over the Internet. It has 1.8 million customers and $30 billion of deposits.

The international banking division’s earnings rose 10.8%, also on stronger loan demand, particularly in Latin America. Bank of Nova Scotia bought 51% of Colombia’s Banco Colpatria for $1 billion in January 2012, and this acquisition contributed to the higher earnings. The wealth management division’s earnings rose 15.7%, mostly because of rising stock markets and higher insurance sales.

The bank should earn $5.09 a share in 2013. The stock trades at 11.6 times that forecast. The $2.28 dividend yields 3.9%.

Bank of Nova Scotia is our #1 safety-conscious buy for 2013.

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