Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Cuts Stake in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund cut its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 41.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,539,629 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,908,312 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $384,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNS. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the first quarter worth $30,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BNS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:BNS opened at $87.03 on Friday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52 week low of $55.21 and a 52 week high of $90.47. The company’s 50 day moving average is $84.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.51. The company has a market cap of $106.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.13 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 13.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.