Corient IA LLC Buys New Stake in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Key Points

• Corient IA LLC invested approximately $237,000 in the Bank of Nova Scotia by purchasing 5,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Recent ratings show that Wall Street analysts have downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" to a "sell" rating, with a current consensus price target of $81.00.
• The bank recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.7996, resulting in a 5.6% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 94.72%.

Corient IA LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,000 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,801 shares of the bank's stock worth $512,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,155,791 shares of the bank's stock worth $54,819,000 after acquiring an additional 60,506 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 14,938 shares of the bank's stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 146.0% during the 1st quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 12,042 shares of the bank's stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 7,146 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 54.9% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,629 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 8,018 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock traded up $1.0250 on Friday, hitting $57.6350. 2,135,103 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,336,226. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52 week low of $44.09 and a 52 week high of $57.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.74.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 2nd. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.00.

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.