Updating our #1 pick for 2013

Article Excerpt

In our February 2013 issue, we named Bank of Nova Scotia our #1 safety-conscious pick for 2013 at $58.80 a share. The stock has gained 10.1% since then, or 14.3% including dividends. We think it has further gains ahead. BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $64.40 (Toronto symbol BNS; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $77.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Div. yield: 3.9%, www.scotiabank.com) is the third-largest of Canada’s five big banks, with assets of $743.8 billion. In its fiscal 2013 fourth quarter, which ended October 31, 2013, the bank earned $1.30 a share, up 10.2% from $1.18 a year earlier. Higher loan demand and an increase in deposits pushed up the Canadian banking division’s earnings by 23.3%. That includes the contribution from ING Direct, which Bank of Nova Scotia bought for $3.1 billion in late 2012. ING Direct offers a variety of no-fee banking services, mainly over the Internet. It has 1.8 million customers and $30 billion of deposits. The…