Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 35,549 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Free Report) TSE: BNS by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211,443 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 35,549 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $10,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 135.6% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 919 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 71.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 858 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Motco lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,086.2% during the third quarter. Motco now owns 2,491 shares of the bank's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BNS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,572,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,070,315. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $39.79 and a fifty-two week high of $51.98. The firm's fifty day moving average is $48.85 and its 200-day moving average is $46.52. The company has a market cap of $57.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.05.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 10.71%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.9 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.7843 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.70%. Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend payout ratio is 69.47%.

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.