Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS Shares Sold by Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.

Key Points

• Beutel Goodman cut its Bank of Nova Scotia stake by 20.2%, selling 31,190 shares and retaining 123,436 shares valued at about $11.25 million. Institutional investors overall own 49.13% of the bank’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $105.50, with one Strong Buy, five Buy, and four Hold ratings.
• The bank beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, and authorized a buyback of up to 40 million shares (3.3% of shares outstanding). It also paid a quarterly dividend of C$1.14 per share.

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 123,436 shares of the bank's stock after selling 31,190 shares during the period. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.'s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $11,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. 55 North Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.6% in the third quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,576 shares of the bank's stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.2% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 10,460 shares of the bank's stock valued at $950,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.6% during the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 2,825 shares of the bank's stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.4% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,501 shares of the bank's stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.6% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 13,860 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BNS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Friday, August 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. TD Securities raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. TD upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.50.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:BNS opened at $93.30 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $92.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $65.99 and a 52-week high of $96.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 25th. The bank reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.11. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 13.91% and a return on equity of 16.12%. The firm had revenue of $7.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.19 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, October 2nd that allows the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to buy up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th were issued a C$1.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.87%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

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