Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS – Get Rating) (TSE:BNS) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 55,296 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 97% from the previous session’s volume of 1,810,964 shares.The stock last traded at $65.36 and had previously closed at $63.59.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BNS shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$107.00 to C$106.00 in a report on Friday, April 8th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 10th. Credit Suisse Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Friday, May 20th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from C$97.00 to C$99.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.66.

The firm has a market cap of $78.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.23.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS – Get Rating) (TSE:BNS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 1st. The bank reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.87 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 15.22% and a net margin of 25.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 5th were paid a dividend of $0.7884 per share. This is a boost from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 4th. This represents a $3.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.86%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.39%.

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter worth $40,502,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 157.8% in the fourth quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 383,308 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,173,000 after buying an additional 234,600 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,570,000. Finally, Alan B. Lancz & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter worth approximately $358,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.01% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile (NYSE:BNS)

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 in four segments: Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets.

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