Candriam S.C.A. Lowers Position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,952 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 502 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $1,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tobam grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 49.7% in the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 4,130 shares of the bank’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 1,371 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 68,826 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,280,248 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $111,232,000 after purchasing an additional 33,490 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 141.7% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 38,482 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,873,000 after purchasing an additional 22,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foguth Wealth Management LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 1st quarter worth approximately $905,000. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

BNS stock opened at $51.47 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $39.79 and a 12-month high of $51.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.04.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.01. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.768 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.97%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 69.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BNS shares. StockNews.com cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

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.