Baskin Financial Services Inc. Takes $263,000 Position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Baskin Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,823 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,432 shares of the bank’s stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 585 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Gold Investment Management Ltd. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 22,677 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock traded up $0.74 on Wednesday, reaching $53.57. 316,602 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,828,595. 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 cap of $65.87 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $50.68 and its 200-day moving average is $48.30. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $39.79 and a one year high of $55.12.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 9.84%. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The 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 given a $0.768 dividend. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BNS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cibc World Mkts upgraded 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 assumed coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.

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.