Squarepoint Ops LLC Cuts Position in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Squarepoint Ops LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 62.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,881 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 26,825 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,211 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the first quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 15.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,084 shares of the bank’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:BNS opened at $72.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $90.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.13. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $44.09 and a one year high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.90.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 12.10% and a net margin of 10.60%.The company had revenue of $6.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 6th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.61%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canada’s largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabank’s core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.