The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Short Interest Up 18.4% in September

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 34,990,000 shares, a growth of 18.4% from the September 15th total of 29,550,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,710,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 20.5 days. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Nova Scotia

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,388.9% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 536 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 3,127.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 581 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia during the first quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, City State Bank purchased a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the third quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on BNS shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

NYSE BNS traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $53.55. The stock had a trading volume of 411,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,829,069. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $39.79 and a 52-week high of $55.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.68 and a 200 day moving average of $48.30. 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 stock has a market cap of $65.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.05.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.01. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.768 per share. This represents a $3.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.50%.

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.