5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Scotiabank

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Based on the aggregated intelligence of the 120,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, Canadian-based Scotiabank (NYSE: BNS) has earned a coveted five-star ranking. Our data has shown that five-star stocks outperform the market by a significant margin; conversely, one-star stocks have woefully lagged the market average.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Scotiabank's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Scotiabank facts

Headquarters (founded)	Toronto, Canada (1832)
Market Cap	$32.1 billion
Industry	Diversified banks
TTM Revenue	$9.5 billion
Management	CEO Richard Waugh (since 2003) CFO Luc Vanneste (since 2005)
Return on Equity (average last three years)	20.4%
Dividend Yield	5.6%
Competitors	Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY) Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD)
CAPS members bullish on BNS also bullish on	Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)
CAPS members bearish on BNS also bearish on	Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO) Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC)

Sources: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's, and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, fully 441 of the 464 members who have rated Scotiabank -- some 95% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include sgtjoefriday and CAPS All-Star TMFBreakerJava,

In September, sgtjoefriday ran down several of Scotia's strong points: "Competent management, international diversification, tasty dividend, and good capital gain potential over interim term as financial sector stocks get over their current radioactive period."

In a more recent pitch from last month, TMFBreakerJava shares that bullish attitude, writing:

This is a solid Canadian bank. Canadian banks are huge by any measure as there are only 6 or so that dominate the Canadian market. This is perhaps what the future of US banking will look like. Since Canada has not gone down the subprime road, they are somewhat sheltered from the turmoil roiling both US and European financial markets.

This is a great time to jump into this reliable performer.

What do you think about Scotiabank, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 120,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.