Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Boosts Stake in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 24.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,757,961 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 2,346,995 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia accounts for about 1.5% of Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $640,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,388.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 536 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,127.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 581 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,588.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 861 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 810 shares during the period. City State Bank purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 102.1% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE BNS opened at $56.22 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $53.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.55. 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 $69.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.05. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $41.80 and a one year high of $56.79.

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 (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” 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.