Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.7%, selling 75,934 shares, and now holds approximately 0.10% of the bank valued at $59.75 million.
• The Bank of Nova Scotia reported a quarterly EPS of $1.06, missing analysts' expectations, while its revenue saw an 8.8% increase compared to the previous year.
• In a recent ratings change, Wall Street Zen downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" to a "sell" rating, reflecting cautious sentiment among analysts.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 5.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,258,751 shares of the bank's stock after selling 75,934 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $59,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BNS. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter worth approximately $52,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 38.4% in the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,175 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 1st quarter valued at $81,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter valued at $95,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,343 shares of the bank's stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BNS traded up $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $56.81. The company had a trading volume of 460,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,976,858. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $44.09 and a fifty-two week high of $57.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $55.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.14.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last announced 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 firm 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 is a positive change from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. One equities 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.