Fifth Third Bancorp Purchases 358 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 71.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 858 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $42,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,115 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,548 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. First Manhattan Co. increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 4,204 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 4,772 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.5% in the first quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 16,443 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

NYSE BNS opened at $48.98 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $39.79 and a 12-month high of $51.98. The firm has a market cap of $59.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.04.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.01 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 11.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.9 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.7843 per share. This is a positive change from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays began coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.00.

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.