MQS Management LLC Acquires Shares of 18,055 Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 18,055 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $856,000. Bank of Nova Scotia accounts for approximately 0.5% of MQS Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BNS. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 4th quarter worth about $1,716,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 13,825 shares of the bank's stock worth $743,000 after acquiring an additional 4,784 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,438 shares of the bank's stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,416 shares of the bank's stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 57,775 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,104,000 after acquiring an additional 3,804 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BNS shares. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE BNS traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $55.05. 3,643,480 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,785,241. 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 stock has a market cap of $68.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.12. The company's fifty day moving average is $53.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.91. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $43.68 and a fifty-two week 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.08). The business 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.81%. This is a positive change from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.