International Assets Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 138.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,358 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 71,712 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $67,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BNS. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $120,463,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 16.1% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 17,015,877 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $881,082,000 after buying an additional 2,361,136 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 17.6% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 14,563,337 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $753,658,000 after buying an additional 2,178,633 shares in the last quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter worth $77,670,000. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2,455.8% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BNS. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of BNS stock opened at $51.78 on Friday. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $39.79 and a twelve month high of $55.12. The company has a market capitalization of $63.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. 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 firm 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. This represents a $3.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.50%.

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.