Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Acquires 1,150 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its stake in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,800 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BNS. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 60.9% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,655 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter valued at about $700,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.6% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 71,072 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,240,000 after buying an additional 1,803 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the third quarter worth approximately $196,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 13.3% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the bank’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of BNS opened at $46.44 on Tuesday. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $39.79 and a 12 month high of $51.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $56.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.04.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were issued a $0.7843 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 1st. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.76%. This is a boost from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BNS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays began coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

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.