The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Sold by Investors Research Corp

Investors Research Corp decreased its position in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,800 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 25.6% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 574,571 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,983,000 after purchasing an additional 117,219 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.7% in the third quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,433,198 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,536,000 after acquiring an additional 101,860 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.0% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,194,388 shares of the bank’s stock worth $368,423,000 after acquiring an additional 314,943 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,691,098 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,083,057,000 after acquiring an additional 725,489 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 71.6% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 858 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $46.38 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.30. The stock has a market cap of $56.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.04. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $39.79 and a 12-month high of $51.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.7843 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.76%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on BNS. Barclays initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

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.