GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Position in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 4,643.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,012 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,822 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 121.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 639 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter worth $83,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter worth $95,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 0.2%

Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $54.30 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.92. The company has a market cap of $67.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.13. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $43.68 and a 52-week high of $57.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.08). Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 8.83% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The company had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.7996 per share. This is a boost from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 86.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Bank of America downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia 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.