The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Acquired by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211,443 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,549 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $10,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 71.6% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 858 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 919 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Motco raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,086.2% during the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 2,491 shares of the bank’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,281 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $46.30 on Friday. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $39.79 and a 1 year high of $51.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $56.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.24, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $48.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.52.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.7843 per share. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.78%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Bank of Nova Scotia Company 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.