Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Coverage Initiated at UBS Group

Equities research analysts at UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating on the bank’s stock.

BNS has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 0.8 %

Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $45.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.90 and a 200-day moving average of $47.65. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $39.79 and a one year high of $51.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $55.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.04.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 28th. The bank reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 11.40%. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Nova Scotia

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,862,189 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,478,304,000 after buying an additional 891,157 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,841,901 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $970,577,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,541 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 17,015,877 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $881,082,000 after acquiring an additional 2,361,136 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 14,563,337 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $753,658,000 after acquiring an additional 2,178,633 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter worth approximately $652,409,000. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.