Short Interest in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) Drops By 58.6%

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 7,520,099 shares, a decline of 58.6% from the January 15th total of 18,153,692 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,919,042 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,919,042 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.2%

Bank of Nova Scotia stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.72. 1,439,442 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,745,199. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $44.09 and a twelve month high of $78.28. The company has a market cap of $93.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.93 and a 200-day moving average of $66.96.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 12.10% and a net margin of 10.60%.The business had revenue of $6.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th were issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 6th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 79.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BNS. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 111.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,096 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 10,056 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 2nd quarter valued at about $330,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 30,429 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,682,000 after acquiring an additional 3,663 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 15.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,084 shares of the bank’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.7% during the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 17,116 shares of the bank’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on BNS. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.00.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canada’s largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabank’s core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.