Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Invests $109.09 Million in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Key Points

• Nicola Wealth Management LTD. has made a significant investment of $109.09 million in Bank of Nova Scotia by purchasing 2,300,000 shares, making it the largest position in their investment portfolio at 10.6%.
• Other institutional investors have also increased their stakes in Bank of Nova Scotia, with hedge funds collectively owning 49.13% of the company's stock.
• Bank of Nova Scotia reported earnings of $1.37 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 13.4%.

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,300,000 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $109,092,000. Bank of Nova Scotia accounts for about 10.6% of Nicola Wealth Management LTD.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. owned about 0.18% of Bank of Nova Scotia at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNS. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2,005.4% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 14,296 shares of the bank's stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 13,617 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted 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 last quarter. Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 941,286 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,623,000 after acquiring an additional 5,085 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 146.0% during the first quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 12,042 shares of the bank's stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 7,146 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,155,791 shares of the bank's stock valued at $54,819,000 after purchasing an additional 60,506 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of BNS traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.96. The stock had a trading volume of 481,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,981,785. The firm has a market cap of $80.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.18. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $44.09 and a one year high of $65.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 26th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 11.61%. Bank of Nova Scotia's revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current year.

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.