The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) is Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s 2nd Largest Position

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,384,022 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 170,793 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia accounts for about 3.9% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. owned 0.36% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $214,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BNS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $652,409,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,841,901 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $970,577,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,541 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter valued at approximately $146,907,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $114,447,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.4% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,567,680 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,028,861,000 after purchasing an additional 736,807 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BNS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:BNS opened at $47.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.15 and a 200 day moving average of $47.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.06. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52 week low of $39.79 and a 52 week high of $51.98.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.01 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 11.40%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.769 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 3rd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 70.72%.

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.