Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 7,213,352 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 204% from the previous session’s volume of 2,369,791 shares.The stock last traded at $86.7710 and had previously closed at $85.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BNS. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $106.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $81.05 and its 200-day moving average is $76.04.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,625 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the bank’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,193 shares of the bank’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.5% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,326 shares of the bank’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.5% in the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 3,579 shares of the bank’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

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.