Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Stake in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 110.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,862 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,147 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $5,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,862,189 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,478,304,000 after acquiring an additional 891,157 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,361,136 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,091,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $690,438,000 after purchasing an additional 683,946 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 17.6% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 2,178,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,281,724 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $424,497,000 after buying an additional 57,796 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BNS opened at $52.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $51.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.51. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $40.21 and a 1 year high of $55.12. The firm has a market cap of $64.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.05.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its 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 return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.768 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.88%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia 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.