Sienna Gestion Boosts Stake in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Sienna Gestion lifted its holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 38.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,954 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 4,707 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,841,901 shares of the bank’s stock worth $970,577,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,541 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in 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 increased its holdings in 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 worth $753,658,000 after buying an additional 2,178,633 shares during the last quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the first quarter worth about $77,670,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,971,032 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,287,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279,934 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BNS opened at $52.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $48.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.90. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $39.79 and a twelve month high of $53.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 11.14%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.768 dividend. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BNS. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.

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.