The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, May 29, edition that TD Cowen analyst Mario Mendonca has reaffirmed his "buy" recommendation for Bank of Nova Scotia. The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Mendonca gave his share target a $3 boost to $79. Analysts on average target the shares at $76. Mr. Mendonca says in a note: "Scotiabank's weak performance over the last three to five years, in our view, reflects the bank's weak ROE performance, lagging balance sheet growth, weaker capital levels and more recently, the threat of tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Our 'buy' rating reflects the bank's deep discount valuation and a longer term view that Scotiabank, through better funding dynamics and lower funding costs, will benefit from a stronger NIM, driving an ROE improvement. We also expect that over the long term, Scotiabank's loan growth will resume (post the balance sheet optimization) which should also support better EPS growth and a stronger ROE. Finally, as Scotiabank's capital level improved this quarter, the bank announced a 4-per-cent dividend increase (first since Q1/22) and 20 million share buybacks (approximately 1.6 per cent of outstanding shares)."