The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Short Interest Update

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 29,550,000 shares, an increase of 22.8% from the August 31st total of 24,070,000 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,650,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 17.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,388.9% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 536 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,127.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 581 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 585 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Galibier Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports 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 note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of BNS stock traded up $0.05 on Monday, hitting $54.49. 8,702,563 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,858,781. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12 month low of $39.79 and a 12 month high of $55.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.00 and a 200 day moving average of $48.09. The stock has a market cap of $67.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.04.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 5.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 70.72%.

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.