Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 7,023,314 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 237% from the previous session’s volume of 2,081,564 shares.The stock last traded at $70.3640 and had previously closed at $70.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BNS. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from $97.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $86.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $73.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.29.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The bank reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,073.1% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 1,410,536 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,840,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290,300 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 315.0% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 2,873,828 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $159,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,181,312 shares during the period. Addenda Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 13.1% in the third quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 1,094,330 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,748,000 after purchasing an additional 126,409 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 55.4% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,517,072 shares of the bank’s stock worth $98,118,000 after purchasing an additional 540,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 50.7% in the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,645,842 shares of the bank’s stock worth $106,435,000 after purchasing an additional 553,720 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company 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.