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 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 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 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and The Bank of Nova Scotia compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and The Bank of Nova Scotia

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations, and institutions in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking. The Consumer Banking segment offers deposit products, mortgage and home equity lending products, credit cards, business loans, and wealth management services; and education and point-of-sale finance loans, as well as digital deposit products. This segment serves its customers through telephone service centers, as well as through its online and mobile platforms. The Commercial Banking segment provides various financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, and interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as syndicated loans, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and debt and equity capital markets services. The company serves customers and small businesses, high- and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, as well as investors, entrepreneurs, and companies and institutions, as well as multifamily, office, industrial, retail, healthcare, and hospitality sectors. The company was formerly known as RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and changed its name to Citizens Financial Group, Inc. in April 2014. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1828 and is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island.

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 Citizens Financial Group, Inc., The Bank of Nova Scotia Stock News

As of September 8, 2026, Citizens Financial Group, Inc. had a $29.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $757.3 million. Citizens Financial Group, Inc.’s stock is up 18.8% in 2026, up 1.8% in the previous five trading days and up 35.35% in the past year.

Currently, Citizens Financial Group, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 15.2. Citizens Financial Group, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $8.2 billion with a 26.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 14.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.302 per share for the current fiscal year. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. currently has a 2.6% dividend yield.

As of September 8, 2026, The Bank of Nova Scotia had a $113.0 billion market cap, putting it in the 97th percentile of all stocks. The Bank of Nova Scotia’s stock is up 25.1% in 2026, up 1.1% in the previous five trading days and up 46.34% in the past year.

Currently, The Bank of Nova Scotia’s price-earnings ratio is 17.0. 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 $6.192 per share for the current fiscal year. The Bank of Nova Scotia currently has a 4.9% dividend yield.

How We Compare Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 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 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and The Bank of Nova Scotia’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and The Bank of Nova Scotia Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Citizens Financial Group, Inc.	CFG	B
The Bank of Nova Scotia	BNS	F

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a Growth Score of 77, which is Strong. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a Growth Score of 20, which is Very Weak.

The Growth Grade Winner: Citizens Financial Group, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than The Bank of Nova Scotia. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 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.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and The Bank of Nova Scotia’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Citizens Financial Group, Inc.	CFG	D
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.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a Quality Score of 22, which is Weak. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a Quality Score of 12, which is Very Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 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 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. or The Bank of Nova Scotia is the better investment when it comes to quality.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and The Bank of Nova Scotia’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Citizens Financial Group, Inc.	CFG	C
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.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 57, which is Neutral. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a Earnings Estimate Score of 70, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: The Bank of Nova Scotia

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, The Bank of Nova Scotia has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Citizens Financial Group, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, The Bank of Nova Scotia could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and The Bank of Nova Scotia Grades

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

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.

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 Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 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, Citizens Financial Group, Inc. or The Bank of Nova Scotia Stock?

Overall, Citizens Financial Group, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 77, Estimate Revisions Score of 57 and Quality Score of 22.

The Bank of Nova Scotia stock has a Growth Score of 20, Estimate Revisions Score of 70 and Quality Score of 12.

Comparing Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 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.