The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 29,550,000 shares, an increase of 22.8% from the August 31st total of 24,070,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,650,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 17.9 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Nova Scotia

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,432 shares of the bank’s stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Power Corp of Canada increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 12,037 shares of the bank’s stock worth $587,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 70.6% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 585 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 19,493 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $889,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, Gold Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 111,564 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,773,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of BNS stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Monday, hitting $54.49. 8,702,562 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,858,781. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.09. Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $39.79 and a twelve month high of $55.12.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.768 dividend. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.64%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BNS. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

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.