Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS Stake Boosted by Amundi

Key Points

• Amundi increased its Bank of Nova Scotia stake by 11.6% in the first quarter, adding 342,204 shares to hold 3.3 million shares valued at approximately $233 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 49.13% of the bank.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: BNS has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117, despite Weiss Ratings reaffirming a buy rating and RBC raising its target to $117.
• Bank of Nova Scotia beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.47 EPS versus the $1.42 consensus and $7.24 billion in revenue versus $7.13 billion expected. Revenue increased 8.3% year over year, while shares recently traded at $87.90.

Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 11.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,303,103 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 342,204 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.27% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $233,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,625 shares of the bank's stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the bank's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,193 shares of the bank's stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,326 shares of the bank's stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 3,579 shares of the bank's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BNS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $117.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of BNS stock opened at $87.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $55.21 and a 1 year high of $90.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $84.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.11.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.13 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 13.38%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.01 EPS for the current year.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.