Signaturefd LLC Sells 295 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Signaturefd LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,660 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 295 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BNS. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 60.9% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,655 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter worth $700,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.6% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 71,072 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,803 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the third quarter worth about $196,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the bank’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of BNS opened at $47.29 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.43. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $39.79 and a fifty-two week high of $51.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.80 billion, a PE ratio of 10.46, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.7843 dividend. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. This is a boost from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on BNS. Barclays began coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has a consensus 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.