Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Buys Shares of 2,039 The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,039 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $111,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.6% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,990,868 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,361,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,195,604 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,640,471 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $310,817,000 after buying an additional 524,496 shares during the last quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter valued at $619,000. Abel Hall LLC bought a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the 3rd quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 214,957 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,712,000 after acquiring an additional 46,421 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $53.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.44. The firm has a market cap of $66.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a twelve month low of $43.67 and a twelve month high of $57.07.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.7535 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.64%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is presently 72.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BNS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Securities upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. 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. Barclays raised Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

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.