Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS Shares Bought by Intech Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 354.7% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 641,035 shares and bringing its total to 821,778 shares.
• The bank beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting EPS of $1.47 versus $1.42 expected and revenue of $7.24 billion, with year-over-year revenue growth of 8.3%.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally cautious: the stock has an average Hold rating, though Royal Bank of Canada recently raised its price target to $117 from $98.

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 354.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 821,778 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 641,035 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia comprises about 0.5% of Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $60,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 158.5% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,634 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,299,000 after buying an additional 10,813 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,259,989 shares of the bank's stock valued at $923,232,000 after buying an additional 799,474 shares during the period. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 163.2% in the 4th quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 1,361,500 shares of the bank's stock valued at $100,430,000 after buying an additional 844,200 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,483,129 shares of the bank's stock valued at $626,478,000 after buying an additional 436,482 shares during the period. Finally, Genus Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Genus Capital Management Inc. now owns 42,020 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,103,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

NYSE:BNS opened at $79.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $52.44 and a fifty-two week high of $82.22. The stock has a market cap of $98.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.13. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $74.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.32.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.05. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 13.22%. The business had revenue of $7.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on BNS. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $117.00.

Key Bank of Nova Scotia News

Here are the key news stories impacting Bank of Nova Scotia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BNS beat Q2 expectations, reporting EPS of $2.02 versus $1.42 expected, with revenue of $7.24 billion also ahead of estimates. The bank said profit rose on stronger interest income and broad-based growth in Canadian banking and wealth management. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The bank raised its dividend after the quarter, signaling confidence in earnings durability and capital strength. WSJ article
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lifted its price target on Bank of Nova Scotia to $117 from $98, reflecting stronger earnings expectations and still implying meaningful upside. Benzinga reference
• Positive Sentiment: Q2 details were constructive: ROE improved to 13.1%, non-interest income grew strongly in wealth management and capital markets, provisions fell, and CET1 capital remained healthy at 13.3%. Seeking Alpha article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts noted the stock is trading at elevated multiples and technical levels, which could limit near-term upside even after the earnings beat. Seeking Alpha article
• Neutral Sentiment: Management flagged a concentration-risk issue after a single-client impaired loan increase, which is worth watching but does not yet appear to outweigh the stronger quarterly fundamentals. Seeking Alpha article

Bank of Nova Scotia 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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