Bank of Nova Scotia Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:BNS)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 12th, 2023

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS – Get Rating) (TSE:BNS) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 4,982 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 387% compared to the average daily volume of 1,024 put options.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Up 1.0 %

Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $50.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $60.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.09, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.02. Bank of Nova Scotia has a fifty-two week low of $45.26 and a fifty-two week high of $70.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $51.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS – Get Rating) (TSE:BNS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $5.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.10 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 17.03%. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 4th will be given a $0.774 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Bank of Nova Scotia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.13%. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 54.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BNS. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $86.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Scotiabank lowered shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of Nova Scotia currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.15.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,115 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 3.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,548 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. First Manhattan Co. boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 4,204 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 0.7% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 31,307 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,624,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Bank of Nova Scotia by 14.8% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,824 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. 45.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bank of Nova Scotia

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The Bank of Nova Scotia engages in the provision of financial products and services including personal, commercial, corporate, and investment banking. It operates through the following segments: Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, Global Banking and Markets, and Other. The Other segment includes group treasury and smaller operating segments.