Invesco Ltd. Acquires 86,172 Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.6% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 86,172 shares, bringing their total ownership to approximately 2,449,880 shares valued at $116.2 million.
• Bank of Nova Scotia recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.7996, up from the previous $0.74, offering an annual yield of 5.6% with a payout ratio of 94.72%.
• The bank missed earnings estimates for the last quarter, reporting $1.06 per share against an expected $1.14, while it also reported a revenue of $6.59 billion, well below analyst expectations of $8.98 billion.

Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,449,880 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 86,172 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.20% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $116,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,168,917 shares of the bank's stock worth $340,022,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441,302 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 393,400 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,650,000 after purchasing an additional 62,500 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,343 shares of the bank's stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 182,677 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,659,000 after purchasing an additional 45,599 shares during the period. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter worth $2,060,000. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

BNS stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $56.78. 638,698 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,977,868. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $70.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.14. The company's fifty day moving average price is $55.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.53. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $44.09 and a 1-year high of $57.07.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 8.83% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.7996 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. This is a boost from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia's payout ratio is presently 94.72%.

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.