The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Purchased by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 4.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,091,880 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 683,946 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia makes up approximately 1.0% of Mackenzie Financial Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $690,438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNS. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.8% during the second quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 136,337 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,235,000 after buying an additional 14,379 shares in the last quarter. Tobam lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,371 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2,455.8% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,521,906 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,627,000 after buying an additional 1,462,360 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 68,826 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,280,248 shares of the bank’s stock worth $111,232,000 after buying an additional 33,490 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BNS. UBS Group started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BNS opened at $54.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $67.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $39.79 and a 12 month high of $55.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.09.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be given a $0.768 dividend. This represents a $3.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.82%.

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.