Guardian Partners Inc. Trims Stake in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Guardian Partners Inc. decreased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 587,622 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 13,080 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia accounts for 3.2% of Guardian Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Guardian Partners Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $38,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,304.3% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 783 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $97.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

NYSE:BNS opened at $72.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $44.09 and a fifty-two week high of $78.28. The firm has a market cap of $88.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $74.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.18.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The bank reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The company had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Profile

Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canada’s largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabank’s core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.