Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS-T)

Like other Canadian banks it is undergoing re-positioning itself for a turn-around. It has dialed back its overseas business and is now focused on Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. The Canada and U.S space is pretty crowded. It has acquired a struggling regional bank in the U.S.

Likes it. Their exposure in Latin America offers exposure to copper and other minerals. Management is shifting focus from Latin America to outside that area. He sees success here, and the stock is priced well now. The yield is generous and safe. This could be a core holding.

The question was on dollar cost averaging for BNS. It is a bank in transition and has had a lot of trouble in recent years. Pays a good dividend of 6%. In general Canadian banks always come back and can be traded.

He sold ~40-50% of his position at $79-80. Now that it's dropped below $70, considering buying it back. Appealing dividend yield. Not sure correction is over yet because of credit cycle. May try to buy cheaper, but it's a reasonable entry point if you have a very long horizon.

Savvy new CEO's doing quite a decent job. Managing balance sheet well, but he's unsure about 15% acquisition of KeyCorp in US.

Worst-performing Canadian bank over the last decade, and that's one of the reasons he likes it. New CEO has freedom to exit under-performing businesses, especially in Latin America. Proceeds are being reinvested in NA. Earnings poised to rise significantly next year as capital gets properly allocated. 

Not expecting outperformance. But yield is 6.11%, and with improvement in growth and other metrics should deliver at least a 10% annualized return for the next 5 years.

Nice run, now having a bit of a setback. But that's OK, that's how it goes with the banks. He doesn't mind buying at these levels.

In his opinion, the only quality banks in Canada are RY and NA. Own quality. New CEO has done an excellent job. Results were very good, but had to raise loan losses.

New strategy under new CEO made sense in theory, but devil is in the details. Non-controlling position in KeyCorp was a head scratcher. Sold Colombian business, but still invested. Show-me story. 

New CEO refocusing on domestic operations and on growing deposit base as a source of funding. Will take time, but doable. Attractive valuation, in lower range amongst peers. Nice dividend.

Better to not hold only 1 bank; also consider RY, which is her favourite.

Liked it below $65, but recently sold up in the mid-$70s. Looking to add back in, but it has to be sub-$70. Risk/reward here is merely neutral, so it's a hold.

Share have gone done, but actually rose in the second half of 2024. The new CEO is unknown, so he's TBD with the market. But so far, there's better performance in key metrics. It takes time to turn around a large company, like 2, 4 or even 10 years. But there's little competition among Canadian banks and you collect a nice dividend as you wait. He's happy to stay the course.

BNS is certainly a bank that investors like to hate on, and for generally good reason these past few years. After skipping in 2024, we would be quite surprised if it did not raise its dividend this year. Sentiment is low here, and the bank needs to get its act together. Investors would appreciate low, but consistent, dividend increases. It is cheap at 10X earnings with a high yield of 5.72% that is likely quite secure. We can see it as an accumulate. 
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More work to do, but probably out of the worst of it. Doing the right things. 1-2 years ahead of where TD's at today. Did pretty well last year, up about 23%. Going into the US for some growth with small stake in KEY. 

No. He'd stick with CNR. CNR is part of a true duopoly in Canada. Its infrastructure is extremely difficult to replicate. If there's a resurgence in transportation, this name will do well. Can outperform the overall market over the long term. It won't be a tremendous investment, but it will do better than BNS over the next 3-5 years.

Banks have had a good run, so best to be a bit cautious now. 

Sold, and shifted into other names. Some analysts have really warmed to it lately. Domestic presence has increased dramatically and strongly. Wants to see all the bank earnings, feels expectations are too high given what they can deliver on growth in the short term. Valuations are at higher end for all.

Paid a lot of $$ for its recent acquisition, and he wants to watch that play out. Canadian banks have a chequered history with US expansion, and he's not sure BNS will break that trend.