Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Position in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,678,072 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 122,852 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $123,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,625 shares of the bank’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,373 shares of the bank’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 45,482 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the bank’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,193 shares of the bank’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BNS opened at $81.65 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.18. The company has a market capitalization of $100.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $53.72 and a 1 year high of $82.22.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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