The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Acquired by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 72.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 118,561 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 49,735 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $6,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 479,595 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,788,000 after acquiring an additional 12,493 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter worth $245,000. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the first quarter valued at about $3,866,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 19,395 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 3,735 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BNS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock traded down $0.58 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $47.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 634,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,909,058. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $46.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.55. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $39.79 and a one year high of $51.98. The firm has a market cap of $58.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 28th. The bank reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.769 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.49%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is 69.82%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

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