The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 31,510,000 shares, a drop of 9.9% from the September 30th total of 34,990,000 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,620,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 19.5 days.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Nova Scotia

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BNS. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5,380.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 3,972,234 shares of the bank's stock valued at $216,447,000 after purchasing an additional 3,899,760 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $120,463,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 16.1% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 17,015,877 shares of the bank's stock valued at $881,082,000 after buying an additional 2,361,136 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 17.6% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 14,563,337 shares of the bank's stock valued at $753,658,000 after acquiring an additional 2,178,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicola Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the first quarter worth $77,670,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BNS shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 118,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,810,089. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $40.21 and a 52-week high of $55.12. The firm's 50-day moving average is $51.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.51. The company has a market cap of $64.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.05.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS - Get Free Report) TSE: BNS last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd were given a $0.768 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.88%. Bank of Nova Scotia's payout ratio is currently 74.88%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company 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.

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