Westerkirk Capital Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Westerkirk Capital Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,336 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 10,589 shares during the period. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $3,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter worth $30,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,304.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 783 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 2nd quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,000. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

NYSE:BNS opened at $77.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $95.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.89. Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $44.09 and a twelve month high of $78.28.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $6.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 6th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.00.

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.