Bayforest Capital Ltd Boosts Position in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS)

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd significantly increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2,005.4%, acquiring an additional 13,617 shares for a total of 14,296 shares valued at approximately $678,000.
• The Bank of Nova Scotia reported quarterly earnings of $1.06 EPS, falling short of analysts' expectations of $1.14, with a net margin of 8.83% and revenue of $6.59 billion.
• The bank recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.7996, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 5.72%, up from the previous dividend of $0.74.

Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 2,005.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,296 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 13,617 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BNS. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter worth about $1,716,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 337,650 shares of the bank's stock worth $18,132,000 after acquiring an additional 25,056 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,007 shares of the bank's stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 100.1% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 11,646 shares of the bank's stock valued at $626,000 after acquiring an additional 5,825 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,368 shares of the bank's stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of 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, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 0.6%

BNS stock traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $55.66. The stock had a trading volume of 2,187,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,832,024. The company's 50-day moving average price is $54.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $69.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.12. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $43.67 and a 12-month high of $57.07.

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

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.7996 per share. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia's payout ratio is 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.