Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS Shares Sold by JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd lowered its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 8.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,242,357 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 121,010 shares during the quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd owned 0.10% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $80,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter worth $67,000. MAI Capital Management increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,211 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, City State Bank raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 56.9% in the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 1,655 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $74.49 on Friday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $44.09 and a fifty-two week high of $74.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $92.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.13.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 12.10%. The firm had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 6th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BNS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.00.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

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.