Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $232.78 Million Holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,091,492 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 195,250 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.41% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $232,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 45.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 61,759 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,824,000 after buying an additional 19,407 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 136,337 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,235,000 after acquiring an additional 14,379 shares during the last quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in the 2nd quarter worth $222,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.8% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 276,325 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,614,000 after purchasing an additional 4,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 8.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 282,548 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,925,000 after purchasing an additional 21,215 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BNS has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. UBS Group began coverage on Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

NYSE BNS opened at $52.44 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $64.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.04. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $39.79 and a 52-week high of $53.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.90.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 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. Bank of Nova Scotia’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.768 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.86%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.72%.

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.