Short Interest in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Drops By 58.6%

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 7,520,099 shares, a drop of 58.6% from the January 15th total of 18,153,692 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,919,042 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,919,042 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Nova Scotia

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 1.7%

BNS stock traded down $1.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $75.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,550,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,774,540. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.96. 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 company has a market capitalization of $93.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.11. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $44.09 and a fifty-two week high of $78.28.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 12.10%. The firm had revenue of $6.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th were paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 6th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.85%.

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.