Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $2.51 Million Stock Position in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 134.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,015 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 30,386 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $2,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BNS. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,589 shares of the bank's stock worth $569,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,248 shares of the bank's stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,095,285 shares of the bank's stock worth $58,839,000 after acquiring an additional 77,820 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 99,207 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,329,000 after acquiring an additional 14,926 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 15,035 shares of the bank's stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BNS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

BNS traded up $0.36 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.63. The stock had a trading volume of 6,968,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,766,586. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $52.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.80. The firm has a market cap of $69.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.12. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $43.68 and a one year high of $57.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

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 company 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%. Bank of Nova Scotia's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.7996 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. This is a boost from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.75%. Bank of Nova Scotia's payout ratio is currently 86.51%.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

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.