BNS’s bad loans drop

Article Excerpt

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA, $70.18, is a buy. The lender (Toronto symbol BNS; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $83.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.9%; www.scotiabank.com) is down 24% since the start of 2022, mainly due to concerns that rising interest rates will lead to a jump in loan writeoffs. However, the bank’s credit quality remains strong. In its fiscal 2022 third quarter, ended July 31, 2022, writeoffs fell 60.8% from a year earlier. As a result, Bank of Nova Scotia’s bad loans improved to 0.36% of its total loan portfolio from 0.46%. The bank probably earned $8.45 a share in fiscal 2022, and the stock trades at an attractive 8.3 times that forecast. The $4.12 dividend looks safe and yields a high 5.9%. Bank of Nova Scotia is a buy. buy…