Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest fell 26.4% in April to 8,650,864 shares, equal to about 0.7% of the stock and a 2.1 days-to-cover ratio.
• Analysts hold a consensus Hold rating with an average target of $106.00 (two Buys, three Holds), and recent price-target moves include RBC raising its target to $106.00.
• Shares traded at $75.67; Scotiabank beat the quarter with EPS of $1.48 vs. $1.42 consensus and revenue of $7.40B, and the company has a market cap of about $93B (PE 15.73).

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 8,650,864 shares, a decrease of 26.4% from the March 31st total of 11,756,111 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,058,917 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 0.7% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on BNS. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from $97.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of BNS stock traded down $1.04 on Wednesday, hitting $75.67. 1,996,136 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,375,040. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $49.06 and a one year high of $78.28. The firm's 50 day moving average is $72.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.10.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The bank reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 12.40%.The business had revenue of $7.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNS. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Maseco LLP bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canada's largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabank's core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.

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