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

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 23,400,000 shares, a decrease of 18.9% from the October 15th total of 28,860,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 14.7 days. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 55.4% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 457,352 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,981,000 after purchasing an additional 163,118 shares during the last quarter. Avalon Investment & Advisory grew its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.0% in the first quarter. Avalon Investment & Advisory now owns 91,363 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,601,000 after purchasing an additional 9,066 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,970,561 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $98,662,000 after buying an additional 22,616 shares during the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 14,661 shares of the bank’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 33,796 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after acquiring an additional 5,990 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.18% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:BNS traded down $0.36 on Thursday, reaching $43.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 243,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,452,439. The firm has a market cap of $52.85 billion, a PE ratio of 9.29, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.14. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $39.79 and a 1-year high of $55.91.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 29th. The bank reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.45. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 12.25%. The business had revenue of $8.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 3rd were given a $0.7801 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 29th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.12%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BNS shares. StockNews.com cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 31st. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from $68.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.33.

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 in four segments: Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets.