The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS – Get Rating) (TSE:BNS) benefited from significant growth in short-term interest rates in September. As of September 15, there was short interest totaling 34,890,000 shares, a growth of 42.2% from the total of 24,530,000 shares as of August 31. Approximately 2.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume of 1,450,000 shares, the short-term interest rate ratio is currently 24.1 days.

Hedge funds weigh on Bank of Nova Scotia

Institutional investors have recently increased or reduced their stake in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia during Q4 for a value of approximately $760,634,000. The Toronto-Dominion Bank increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia shares by 14.1% in the second quarter. The Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 18,508,148 shares of the bank worth $1,097,920,000 after acquiring 2,289,163 additional shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & ​​Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia shares by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & ​​Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,616,724 shares of the bank worth $760,696,000 after acquiring an additional 1,914,499 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,996,068 shares of the bank worth $2,940,238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,299 shares during the period. Finally, Mufg Securities Canada LTD. increased its holdings in the Bank of Nova Scotia by 24.6% during the 1st quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. now owns 3,800,000 shares of the bank worth $272,475,000 after purchasing an additional 750,702 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.43% of the company’s shares.

A Wall Street analyst gives his opinion

The BNS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Credit Suisse Group lowered its price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from CA$85.00 to CA$84.00 in a Wednesday, August 24 research note. Canaccord Genuity Group cut its price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$92.00 to C$89.00 and set a ‘buy’ rating for the stock in a Thursday research note August 18. CIBC lowered its price target on Bank of Nova Scotia from C$88.00 to C$87.00 in a Tuesday, August 16 research note. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from an “outperforming” rating to a “market performing” rating in a Tuesday, Aug. 23 research note. Finally, the Royal Bank of Canada downgraded The Bank of Nova Scotia from an “outperform” rating to an “sector performance” rating in a report released Wednesday, August 24. Ten research analysts gave the stock a hold rating and five gave the stock a buy rating. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.33.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

BNS shares opened at $48.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.21 and a two-hundred-day simple moving average of $62.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.48 billion, a price/earnings ratio of 7.33, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.96. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $47.66 and a 52-week high of $74.86.

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS – Get Rating) (TSE:BNS) last released its results on Tuesday August 23rd. The bank reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.63 for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.63. The Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 24.43%. The company posted revenue of $6.06 billion in the quarter, versus $6.25 billion expected by analysts. On average, analysts expect Bank of Nova Scotia to post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia cuts dividends

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 27. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 4 will receive a dividend of $0.7897 per share. This represents an annualized dividend of $3.16 and a yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 3. The Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.63%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Corporate Profile

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The Bank of Nova Scotia offers a variety of banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, as well as internationally. It operates through four segments: Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management and Global Banking and Markets.

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