The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 30,260,000 shares, a growth of 26.8% from the December 15th total of 23,870,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,400,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 21.6 days.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Nova Scotia

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BNS. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 17.5% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,438,129 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $241,981,000 after purchasing an additional 660,097 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 2,455.8% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,521,906 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,627,000 after buying an additional 1,462,360 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 48.3% in the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,563,594 shares of the bank’s stock worth $85,201,000 after acquiring an additional 509,120 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,744,062 shares of the bank’s stock worth $204,214,000 after acquiring an additional 150,247 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,091,880 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $690,438,000 after acquiring an additional 683,946 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on BNS. Barclays upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group raised Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

Shares of BNS traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.86. 2,218,248 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,503,873. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.37. The company has a market capitalization of $63.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Bank of Nova Scotia has a one year low of $43.67 and a one year high of $57.07.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a $0.7535 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.93%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.29%.

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.