Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 5,357,999 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 223% from the previous session’s volume of 1,656,439 shares.The stock last traded at $47.20 and had previously closed at $47.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on BNS. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Cibc World Mkts cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. CIBC reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 0.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $59.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $49.87 and its 200 day moving average is $52.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.7415 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.25%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BNS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter worth $690,746,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,990,868 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,361,752,000 after buying an additional 2,195,604 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter worth about $96,529,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,433,171 shares of the bank’s stock worth $406,103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,792,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,363,146 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,758,150,000 after buying an additional 969,488 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

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.