SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 12,290 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 80.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,074 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 12,290 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,115 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,548 shares of the bank’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. First Manhattan Co. raised its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 4,204 shares of the bank’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.7% during the second quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 4,772 shares of the bank’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.5% in the first quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 16,443 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented 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 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

NYSE:BNS opened at $46.38 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.30. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $39.79 and a 1-year high of $51.98. The stock has a market cap of $56.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.04.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.7843 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. This is a boost from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.76%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.96%.

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.