Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. Buys 9,694 Shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 135,249 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,694 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia comprises approximately 2.2% of Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $6,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.4% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,567,680 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,028,861,000 after buying an additional 736,807 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.7% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,684,313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $665,191,000 after buying an additional 1,256,868 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.4% in the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 13,387,765 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $600,211,000 after buying an additional 183,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,194,388 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $368,423,000 after buying an additional 314,943 shares during the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

NYSE BNS traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.66. The company had a trading volume of 660,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,089,574. The company has a market capitalization of $57.03 billion, a PE ratio of 10.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.43. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $39.79 and a twelve month high of $51.98.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.7843 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.72%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.