Updating Bank of Nova Scotia

Article Excerpt

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $82 (Toronto symbol BNS; Income- Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $98.4 billion; Dividend yield: 3.9%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.scotiabank.com) is Canada’s third-largest bank, with assets of $906.3 billion. The bank will raise its quarterly dividend by 3.9% with the October 2017 payment, to $0.79 a share from $0.76. The new annual rate of $3.16 yields 3.9%. Bank of Nova Scotia aims to pay out 40% to 50% of earnings as dividends. In the most recent quarter, dividends equalled 45.2% of earnings, so it has room to keep raising the payments. In its fiscal 2017 third quarter, ended July 31, 2017, Bank of Nova Scotia’s earnings rose 7.4%, to $2.1 billion from $2.0 billion a year earlier. Due to fewer shares outstanding, per-share earnings rose at a slightly higher rate of 7.8%, to $1.66 from $1.54. Bank of Nova Scotia recently expanded its sponsorship of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE); the firm owns…