Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stake in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 19.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 251,879 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 40,436 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $13,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 68,826 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,280,248 shares of the bank’s stock worth $111,232,000 after buying an additional 33,490 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,691,098 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,083,057,000 after buying an additional 725,489 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 141.7% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 38,482 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,873,000 after buying an additional 22,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foguth Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter worth $905,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:BNS traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $45.32. The stock had a trading volume of 713,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,929,282. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.86 and a 200 day moving average of $47.62. The stock has a market cap of $55.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.04. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $39.79 and a 12-month high of $51.98.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 28th. The bank reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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, research analysts predict that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.769 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.79%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 69.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia 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.