Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS Stock: Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC Reduces Position

Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 128,931 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 40,575 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia comprises 0.8% of Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $11,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BNS. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the second quarter valued at $1,016,738,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 2nd quarter worth $709,837,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 2nd quarter worth $567,278,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,008,689 shares of the bank’s stock worth $416,415,000 after acquiring an additional 154,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 2nd quarter worth about $416,397,000. 49.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Friday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. TD upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, TD Securities raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.50.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $91.69 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.14. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $65.55 and a one year high of $96.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $92.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.84.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 25th. The bank reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.11. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 13.91%. The company had revenue of $7.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.19 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, October 2nd that permits the company to buy back 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were issued a dividend of C$1.14 per share. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 57.87%.

About Bank of Nova Scotia