Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 12.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 852,667 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 121,367 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $47,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BNS. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,200,107 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,330,000 after buying an additional 44,316 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,439.7% during the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 108,750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,011,000 after acquiring an additional 101,687 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 2nd quarter worth about $21,803,000. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,188,376 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,755,000 after purchasing an additional 33,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 261.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 15,811 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 11,442 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.0%

BNS opened at $71.68 on Tuesday. 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 $88.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $66.30 and its 200-day moving average is $60.53. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $44.09 and a one year high of $72.42.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be given a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 6th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is 78.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BNS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on 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. Wall Street Zen raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.00.

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.