Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Sees Large Volume Increase

Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 3,373,901 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 65% from the previous session's volume of 2,041,570 shares.The stock last traded at $51.50 and had previously closed at $51.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on BNS shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. StockNews.com raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 1.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.06. The firm has a market cap of $63.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.7843 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of Nova Scotia's previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.06%. Bank of Nova Scotia's payout ratio is 51.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 40.7% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 545,803 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,312,000 after acquiring an additional 157,795 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 574,571 shares of the bank's stock worth $25,983,000 after acquiring an additional 117,219 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,433,198 shares of the bank's stock worth $64,536,000 after acquiring an additional 101,860 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,194,388 shares of the bank's stock worth $368,423,000 after acquiring an additional 314,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,691,098 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,083,057,000 after acquiring an additional 725,489 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company's stock.

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.