Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Key Points

• Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. reduced its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.1% in the first quarter, owning $57.19 million worth of shares as of its latest SEC filing.
• Wall Street analysts have downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" to a "sell" rating, with the stock currently holding an average rating of "Hold" and a target price of $81.00.
• The bank recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.7996 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 5.6% and a payout ratio of 94.72%.

Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,204,941 shares of the bank's stock after selling 12,916 shares during the quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.10% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $57,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,621 shares of the bank's stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 1,413 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,716,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,760 shares of the bank's stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 59.6% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 343,006 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,425,000 after acquiring an additional 128,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 40,894 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

NYSE BNS traded down $0.1150 on Thursday, hitting $56.5950. The stock had a trading volume of 1,308,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,970,338. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $44.09 and a 52-week high of $57.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $70.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $55.42 and a 200-day moving average of $51.64.

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

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.7996 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. 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 Company 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.