Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Short Interest Update

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,183,278 shares, a growth of 18.0% from the February 26th total of 5,240,205 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,128,381 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BNS. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from $97.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 1.6%

Bank of Nova Scotia stock traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.39. 931,279 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,066,054. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $86.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.45 and a 200 day moving average of $70.17. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $44.09 and a 12-month high of $78.28.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 12.40%.The firm had revenue of $7.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Nova Scotia

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BNS. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. 49.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.