Scotia’s dividend gets another boost

Article Excerpt

Bank of Nova Scotia is now up 27% this year after reporting strong results in the latest quarter across all of its businesses. The gains have prompted the bank to raise its dividend for the second time this year. While provisions for loan losses from its oil and gas clients are still high, the bank feels that the worst is over for its energy borrowers. BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $69.81 (Toronto symbol BNS; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $84.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.2%, www.scotiabank.com) is the third-largest of Canada’s five big banks. In the three months ended July 31, 2016, the bank earned $1.96 billion, or $1.55 a share. That is up 6.1% from $1.85 billion, or $1.46, a year earlier. It also beats the consensus estimate of $1.48 a share. Earnings at the Canadian banking division (47% of the total) rose 7.8%, mostly due to higher fee income and steady loan growth. Similarly, strong…