Cumberland Partners Ltd Reduces Stock Position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Cumberland Partners Ltd reduced its holdings in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 39.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,683 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 30,347 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $2,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,248 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 2,126,600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $114,137,000 after acquiring an additional 44,800 shares during the last quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 157,428 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398 shares in the last quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 6,420 shares of the bank’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 56,282 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,023,000 after purchasing an additional 3,009 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BNS. UBS Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Bank of America raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Securities raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. 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 shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $50.84 on Thursday. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52 week low of $43.67 and a 52 week high of $57.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $52.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.20. The stock has a market cap of $63.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.07.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were given a dividend of $0.7535 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.93%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 68.29%.

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.