BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Increases Stake in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 260.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,480,486 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,958,580 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia makes up about 1.8% of BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned about 0.44% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $298,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BNS. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter worth $258,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.5% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 22,329 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,217,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.5% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 161,073 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,786,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 40.7% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 747,863 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,793,000 after buying an additional 216,371 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 24.9% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,757,961 shares of the bank’s stock worth $640,624,000 after buying an additional 2,346,995 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:BNS opened at $57.04 on Friday. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $43.67 and a 1-year high of $57.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.78 and a 200 day moving average of $49.71. The firm has a market cap of $70.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.01. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BNS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Securities raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

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.