BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Buys 1,462,360 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 2,455.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,521,906 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,462,360 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned about 0.12% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $69,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BNS. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,388.9% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 536 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,127.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 581 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 70.6% in 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 during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Galibier Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 1st quarter valued at about $76,000. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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 $53.96 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $66.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $48.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.97. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $39.79 and a one year high of $54.41.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business 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. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be given a $0.768 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.69%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 70.72%.

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.