Ascent Group LLC Invests $236,000 in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC purchased 4,978 shares of Bank of Nova Scotia, valued at approximately $236,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• The bank recently reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS), beating analyst expectations, while its revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year.
• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target for Bank of Nova Scotia to $86.00, with a consensus rating of "Hold" from multiple analysts.

Ascent Group LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,978 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNS. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,801 shares of the bank's stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 941,286 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,623,000 after purchasing an additional 5,085 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 146.0% during the 1st quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 12,042 shares of the bank's stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 7,146 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,155,791 shares of the bank's stock worth $54,819,000 after acquiring an additional 60,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 14,938 shares of the bank's stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $64.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 368,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,979,286. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business's fifty day moving average price is $58.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.26. The firm has a market cap of $80.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.16. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $44.09 and a one year high of $65.19.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 26th. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.09. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 9.74%.The business had revenue of $6.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BNS has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.00.

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.