Norges Bank Makes New $1.37 Billion Investment in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 18,554,149 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,368,456,000. Norges Bank owned 1.50% of Bank of Nova Scotia at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,625 shares of the bank’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,373 shares of the bank’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 45,482 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the bank’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,193 shares of the bank’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BNS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of BNS opened at $80.07 on Friday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $52.44 and a 52-week high of $82.22. The business’s fifty day moving average is $74.69 and its 200-day moving average is $73.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $98.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.13.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.05. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 13.38%.The company had revenue of $7.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

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.