The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Short Interest Up 22.8% in September

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 29,550,000 shares, an increase of 22.8% from the August 31st total of 24,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,650,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 17.9 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,862,189 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,478,304,000 after buying an additional 891,157 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 16.1% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 17,015,877 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $881,082,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361,136 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,091,880 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $690,438,000 after purchasing an additional 683,946 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 17.6% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 2,178,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,281,724 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $424,497,000 after purchasing an additional 57,796 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of BNS traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $54.49. The stock had a trading volume of 8,702,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,858,781. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $39.79 and a fifty-two week high of $55.12. The company has a market cap of $67.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.09.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.768 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.64%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.72%.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

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.