Aviso Financial Inc. Buys 8,841 Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Aviso Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 3.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 286,820 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 8,841 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia accounts for approximately 0.8% of Aviso Financial Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $18,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,304.3% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 783 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the second quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter valued at $67,000. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BNS. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from $97.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $75.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.11. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $44.09 and a 1-year high of $78.28. The company’s 50-day moving average is $74.75 and its 200 day moving average is $68.59.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The bank reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 12.40%.The firm had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 7th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.74%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Profile

Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canada’s largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabank’s core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.