Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS Stock Sold by Value Partners Investments Inc.

Value Partners Investments Inc. reduced its position in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 510,642 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 169,226 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia comprises 3.2% of Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $46,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the second quarter worth approximately $1,016,738,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the second quarter valued at approximately $709,837,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the second quarter valued at approximately $567,278,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,008,689 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $416,415,000 after buying an additional 154,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,024,708 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $348,263,000 after buying an additional 400,382 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on BNS. TD Securities upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Friday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, TD upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.50.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock traded down $0.43 on Monday, hitting $91.17. The stock had a trading volume of 714,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,319,909. Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $63.74 and a twelve month high of $95.74. The business’s 50 day moving average is $91.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market cap of $110.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.14.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 25th. The bank reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.11 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 13.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.19 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be given a C$1.14 dividend. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 57.87%.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia, operating under the Scotiabank name, is a Canadian financial services company that provides banking and related services to individuals, businesses, institutions and governments. Its principal businesses include Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management and Global Banking and Markets.

The company offers personal and commercial deposit accounts, mortgages, consumer and business loans, credit cards, payments and other financial products. Through its wealth management operations, Scotiabank provides investment, advisory, brokerage and private banking services.