Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC Purchases 1,758 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 242,152 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,758 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia accounts for about 2.5% of Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $11,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 25.6% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 574,571 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,983,000 after purchasing an additional 117,219 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.7% during the third quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 1,433,198 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,536,000 after purchasing an additional 101,860 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.0% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,194,388 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $368,423,000 after purchasing an additional 314,943 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,691,098 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,083,057,000 after purchasing an additional 725,489 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 71.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 858 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE BNS traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $46.44. 608,474 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,110,086. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $56.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.30. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.01 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 10.71%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.7843 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.76%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BNS. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays started coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.00.

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.