Public Sector Pension Investment Board Boosts Holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,073 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $8,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BNS. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,091,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $690,438,000 after acquiring an additional 683,946 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 24.9% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,757,961 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $640,624,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,995 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 10,074,518 shares of the bank’s stock worth $550,729,000 after purchasing an additional 240,803 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,281,724 shares of the bank’s stock worth $424,497,000 after purchasing an additional 57,796 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,438,129 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $241,981,000 after purchasing an additional 660,097 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BNS shares. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $57.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.71. The stock has a market cap of $70.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.05. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $43.67 and a 12-month high of $57.05.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.