Sifting through countless of stocks in the Banks industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Bank of Montreal or The Bank of Nova Scotia because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Bank of Montreal and The Bank of Nova Scotia compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Bank of Montreal and The Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. It operates through Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking; U.S. Banking; Wealth Management; and Capital Markets segments. The company offers checking accounts, savings, money markets and certificates of deposits, debit cards, overdrafts, digital banking, credit cards, loans, mortgages, investment and retirement options, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services comprise various of financing options and treasury and payment solutions, as well as risk management products. It also offers investing, banking, and wealth management advisory; digital investing services; financial solutions for individuals, families, and businesses; offers investment management services to institutional, retail, and high net worth investors; and diversified insurance, and wealth and pension de-risking solutions. In addition, the company provides individual life, critical illness and annuity products, as well as segregated funds, and group creditor and travel insurance to customers; debt and equity capital-raising, loan origination and syndication, balance sheet management, treasury management, mergers and acquisitions advice, restructurings and recapitalizations, trade finance, and risk mitigation services, as well as a range of banking and other operating services. Further, the company offers research and access to financial markets for institutional, corporate and retail clients through an integrated suite of sales and trading solutions related to debt, foreign exchange, interest rates, credit, equities, securitization, and commodities; provides new product development and origination services, as well as risk management and advisory services for hedging strategies, including in interest rates, foreign exchange rates and commodities prices; and funding and liquidity management services. Bank of Montreal was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets segments. The company offers financial advice and solutions, and banking products, including debit and credit cards, chequing and saving accounts, investments, mortgages, loans, and insurance to individuals; and retail automotive financing solutions. It also provides business banking solutions comprising lending, deposit, cash management, and trade finance solutions to small, medium, and large businesses. In addition, it provides wealth management advice and solutions, including online brokerage, mobile investment, full-service brokerage, trust, private banking, and private investment counsel services; and retail mutual funds, exchange traded funds, liquid alternatives, and institutional funds. The company was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Latest Banks and Bank of Montreal, The Bank of Nova Scotia Stock News

As of September 1, 2026, Bank of Montreal had a $117.7 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $730.8 million. Bank of Montreal’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and up 39.09% in the past year.

Currently, Bank of Montreal’s price-earnings ratio is 19.2. Bank of Montreal’s trailing 12-month revenue is $25.4 billion with a 25.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 10.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $10.603 per share for the current fiscal year. Bank of Montreal currently has a 4.1% dividend yield.

Currently, The Bank of Nova Scotia’s price-earnings ratio is 16.7. The Bank of Nova Scotia’s trailing 12-month revenue is $25.1 billion with a 28.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 10.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.136 per share for the current fiscal year. The Bank of Nova Scotia currently has a 5.0% dividend yield.

How We Compare Bank of Montreal and The Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Bank of Montreal and The Bank of Nova Scotia’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Bank of Montreal and The Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Bank of Montreal	BMO	C
The Bank of Nova Scotia	BNS	B

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Bank of Montreal has a Value Score of 58, which is Average. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a Value Score of 65, which is Value.

The Value Stock Winner: The Bank of Nova Scotia

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, The Bank of Nova Scotia is considered to have better value than Bank of Montreal. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, The Bank of Nova Scotia could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Bank of Montreal and The Bank of Nova Scotia’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Bank of Montreal	BMO	F
The Bank of Nova Scotia	BNS	F

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Bank of Montreal has a Quality Score of 13, which is Very Weak. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a Quality Score of 12, which is Very Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Bank of Montreal or The Bank of Nova Scotia has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Bank of Montreal or The Bank of Nova Scotia is the better investment when it comes to quality.

Bank of Montreal and The Bank of Nova Scotia’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Bank of Montreal	BMO	B
The Bank of Nova Scotia	BNS	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Bank of Montreal has a Earnings Estimate Score of 65, which is Positive. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a Earnings Estimate Score of 68, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both Bank of Montreal and The Bank of Nova Scotia have a grade of B. For those focusing solely on a company’s estimate revisions, other financial metrics will need to be evaluated to determine whether Bank of Montreal or The Bank of Nova Scotia is a better fit.

Other Bank of Montreal and The Bank of Nova Scotia Grades

In addition to Quality, Estimate Revisions and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Bank of Montreal and The Bank of Nova Scotia pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Bank of Montreal or The Bank of Nova Scotia Stock?

Overall, Bank of Montreal stock has a Value Score of 58, Estimate Revisions Score of 65 and Quality Score of 13.

The Bank of Nova Scotia stock has a Value Score of 65, Estimate Revisions Score of 68 and Quality Score of 12.

Comparing Bank of Montreal and The Bank of Nova Scotia’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.