Topic: How To Invest

The Successful Investor Hotline – Friday, June 4, 2021

Article Excerpt

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA, $81.21, Toronto symbol BNS, is a buy. As Canada’s economy continues to recover from last year’s coronavirus downturn, the bank is reversing some of its previous loan-loss provisions. In the second quarter ended April 30, 2021, Bank of Nova Scotia set aside $496 million to cover future loan losses. That’s down 73.1% from $1.85 billion a year earlier. Due to those lower provisions, the bank’s earnings in the quarter jumped 82.7%, to $1.90 a share (or a total of $2.31 billion) from $1.04 a share (or $1.28 billion). The figures exclude unusual items. On that basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $1.77 a share. Thanks to the lower loan-loss provisions, earnings at the Canadian banking operations (41% of the total) jumped 93.6% in the quarter while profits at the international banking business (19%) soared 117.8%. As well, earnings at the wealth management operations (17%) improved 20.4% as stock values continue to rebound from their March 2020 lows. However, earnings…