Ridgewood Investments LLC Decreases Holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Ridgewood Investments LLC trimmed its stake in shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 62.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,570 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 4,190 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC’s holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia were worth $138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 11,089 shares of the bank’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.2% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 18,470 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 7.3% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 3,357 shares of the bank’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 11.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the bank’s stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.1% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 27,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,515,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 49.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia stock opened at $51.36 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.18. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 12-month low of $43.67 and a 12-month high of $57.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $63.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.08.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a $0.7535 dividend. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of Nova Scotia’s payout ratio is 72.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BNS shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Securities upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia 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.