The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,047 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 19,185 shares of the bank’s stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 71.6% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 858 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.0% in the third quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,042 shares of the bank’s stock worth $959,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 12.1% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 4,628 shares of the bank’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 135.6% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 919 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on BNS shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.6 %

BNS stock opened at $47.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $39.79 and a 1-year high of $51.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.65. The firm has a market cap of $57.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.05.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $6.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. Research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.7843 per share. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 1st. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.66%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 69.47%.

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.