Public Sector Pension Investment Board Increases Stock Position in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Key Points

• Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,073.1% in Q2, buying 1,290,300 shares to hold 1,410,536 shares (~0.11% of the company) worth about $77.84 million.
• Scotiabank beat expectations for the quarter with EPS of $1.39 (vs. $1.33 estimate) and revenue of $6.99 billion—up 15% year-over-year.
• The bank announced a quarterly dividend of $1.10 ($4.40 annualized), implying a ~6.0% yield; the ex‑dividend date is Jan 6 and the payment date is Jan 28.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 1,073.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,410,536 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 1,290,300 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.11% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $77,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the second quarter valued at $55,000. MAI Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,211 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter worth $69,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,084 shares of the bank's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BNS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $72.76 on Friday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $44.09 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.04. The company has a market capitalization of $89.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.13.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 12.10% and a net margin of 10.60%.The company had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. Bank of Nova Scotia's revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 6th. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio is 78.61%.

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.

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