31,394 Shares in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS Purchased by Vise Technologies Inc.

Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 31,394 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,852,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,016,738,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the second quarter valued at approximately $709,837,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $567,278,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,008,689 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $416,415,000 after buying an additional 154,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $416,397,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

NYSE:BNS opened at $96.41 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $92.45 and a 200-day moving average of $82.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $65.24 and a twelve month high of $96.53.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 25th. The bank reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $7.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.11 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 13.91% and a return on equity of 16.12%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.19 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th were issued a dividend of C$1.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 6th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.87%.

Bank of Nova Scotia announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, October 2nd that permits the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BNS has been the topic of a number of research reports. National Bank Financial raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. TD upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. TD Securities raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Friday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.50.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia, operating under the Scotiabank name, is a Canadian financial services company that provides banking and related services to individuals, businesses, institutions and governments. Its principal businesses include Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management and Global Banking and Markets.

The company offers personal and commercial deposit accounts, mortgages, consumer and business loans, credit cards, payments and other financial products. Through its wealth management operations, Scotiabank provides investment, advisory, brokerage and private banking services.