Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Has $275.15 Million Stock Position in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lessened its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,725,790 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 254,275 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia comprises 4.5% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $275,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 79.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 688 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

NYSE:BNS opened at $81.58 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $53.72 and a twelve month high of $82.22. The firm has a market cap of $99.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $76.34 and a 200-day moving average of $74.07.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BNS. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.00.

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.