2,276 Shares in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Acquired by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,276 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $104,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BNS. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,388.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 536 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,127.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 581 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 585 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 144.6% during the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 959 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on BNS shares. StockNews.com downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of BNS stock opened at $52.04 on Friday. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $39.79 and a 1-year high of $52.10. 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 company has a market capitalization of $63.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.82.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.768 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.90%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 70.72%.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

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.