Forsta AP Fonden Increases Holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 352,700 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 24,100 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $19,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 110.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 91,862 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,011,000 after buying an additional 48,147 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 138.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 123,358 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,220,000 after buying an additional 71,712 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 18,470 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter valued at about $221,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 171.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,578 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BNS. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $51.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $39.79 and a 1-year high of $55.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.78 and its 200 day moving average is $48.47.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.768 per share. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.50%.

Bank of Nova Scotia 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.