Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Lowers Stock Holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC decreased its position in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 88.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,094 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 8,655 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $53,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 135.6% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 919 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 71.6% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 858 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Motco boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,086.2% during the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 2,491 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,281 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BNS has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of BNS traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $45.88. The company had a trading volume of 1,341,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,078,186. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.52. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52 week low of $39.79 and a 52 week high of $51.98. The company has a market capitalization of $56.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.04.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.9 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were issued a $0.7843 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 69.47%.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

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.