First Affirmative Financial Network Has $404,000 Holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

First Affirmative Financial Network decreased its position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,513 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,360 shares during the quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BNS. Orca Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter valued at about $888,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 98.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the bank’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,020 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Magnus Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 5,100 shares of the bank’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,065 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 2,439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on BNS shares. Bank of America upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, TD Securities raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of BNS stock opened at $51.96 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.03, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $43.67 and a one year high of $57.07.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a $0.7535 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.80%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 68.29%.

Bank of Nova Scotia 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.