Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases Shares of 331,636 Bank of Nova Scotia (The) $BNS

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 331,636 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $28,767,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1,366.7% in the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 440 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on BNS. TD Securities raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Friday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from $98.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

NYSE BNS opened at $92.35 on Friday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1-year low of $61.69 and a 1-year high of $94.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.15. The company has a market cap of $112.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.11.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.13 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a net margin of 13.91% and a return on equity of 16.12%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a $1.14 dividend. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is currently 58.05%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canada’s largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabank’s core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.