The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Short Interest Update

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 30,220,000 shares, an increase of 18.3% from the March 15th total of 25,550,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,070,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 14.6 days.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of BNS opened at $47.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.04. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $39.79 and a 12-month high of $51.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.30.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.01 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 11.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.7843 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 34.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BNS shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. One 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,432 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $799,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.5% in the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 51,788 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,682,000 after buying an additional 3,623 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the first quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 45.0% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,868 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $666,000 after buying an additional 3,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.6% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 51,646 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,674,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.