BNS is our #1 bank buy

Article Excerpt

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA, $93.19, is a #1 Buy for 2022. The lender (Toronto symbol BNS; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $110.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.3%; www.scotiabank.com) is Canada’s third-largest bank. Bank of Nova Scotia continues to reverse last year’s big increase in loan-loss provisions as the pandemic eases and the economy re-opens. In the quarter ended January 31, 2022, it set aside $222 million to cover future loan losses. That’s down 70.9% from $764 million a year earlier. Due to those lower provisions, the bank’s per-share earnings in the quarter climbed 14.4%, to $2.15 from $1.88. Meanwhile, the bank raised its dividend by 11.1% with the December 2021 payment. The stock now yields a high 4.3%. As well, the shares trade at just 11.3 times the bank’s forecast 2022 earnings of $8.28 a share. Bank of Nova Scotia is a #1 Buy for 2022. 2022…