Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Sees Large Volume Increase

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 3,373,901 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 65% from the previous session’s volume of 2,041,570 shares.The stock last traded at $51.50 and had previously closed at $51.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BNS. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $48.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.03.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 10.71%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.7843 per share. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.06%. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,115 shares of the bank’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,548 shares of the bank’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. First Manhattan Co. raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 4,204 shares of the bank’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 4,772 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Power Corp of Canada raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 12,037 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.