Barclays PLC Decreases Stock Position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Barclays PLC cut its holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS – Get Rating) (TSE:BNS) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 339,204 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 18,185 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $16,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the bank’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 125.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 867,334 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,308,000 after purchasing an additional 74,667 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,101,341 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,789,000 after purchasing an additional 111,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NEIRG Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 128.4% in the 2nd quarter. NEIRG Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,186 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after purchasing an additional 21,464 shares during the last quarter. 45.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at C$51.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of C$61.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$50.39 and a 200-day moving average of C$52.76. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52 week low of C$45.26 and a 52 week high of C$74.86.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS – Get Rating) (TSE:BNS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 29th. The bank reported C$1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$1.49 by C$0.06. The company had revenue of C$5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$6.21 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 21.26%. On average, analysts expect that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 4th will be given a dividend of $0.756 per share. This represents a $3.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 3rd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BNS shares. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$83.50 to C$81.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 30th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$89.77.

Bank of Nova Scotia Profile

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The Bank of Nova Scotia engages in the provision of various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets.