AJOVista LLC Makes New Investment in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 74,400 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,621,000. Bank of Nova Scotia comprises approximately 4.6% of AJOVista LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 19,185 shares of the bank’s stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased 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 acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.0% during the third quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,042 shares of the bank’s stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,047 shares of the bank’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 4,628 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock traded up $0.55 on Friday, reaching $46.85. 1,572,888 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,031,532. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $39.79 and a fifty-two week high of $51.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.9 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.7843 per share. This is a positive change from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 1st. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BNS. Barclays started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.00.

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.