Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of 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. Bank of America downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $54.19 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $67.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $43.68 and a one year high of $57.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $51.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.91.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,184,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,521,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821,025 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 25,425,639 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,363,619,000 after acquiring an additional 434,771 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,966,078 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,017,933,000 after acquiring an additional 308,837 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 17,717,286 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $840,331,000 after acquiring an additional 362,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,158,112 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $718,670,000 after acquiring an additional 374,487 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.