Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Takes Position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 22,236 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,211,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 65.9% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 42,028 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 16,700 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 177.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 40,714 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,106,000 after buying an additional 26,036 shares during the period. Natixis increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 166.3% in the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 48,394 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,504,000 after buying an additional 30,219 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the first quarter valued at approximately $264,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.4% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,004,496 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $207,349,000 after purchasing an additional 277,218 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE BNS opened at $56.30 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.29. The company has a market capitalization of $70.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $41.80 and a 12 month high of $56.44.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were issued a $0.768 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.46%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BNS. Bank of America upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Securities raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.00.

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.