BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the four brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.75.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of BrightSphere Investment Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $26.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut BrightSphere Investment Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of BrightSphere Investment Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised BrightSphere Investment Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on BrightSphere Investment Group from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BrightSphere Investment Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Azora Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of BrightSphere Investment Group by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 2,028,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,520,000 after purchasing an additional 195,728 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in BrightSphere Investment Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,126,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,980,000 after buying an additional 4,399 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in BrightSphere Investment Group by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,098,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,910,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in BrightSphere Investment Group by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 968,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,611,000 after buying an additional 195,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BrightSphere Investment Group by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 160,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,547,000 after acquiring an additional 2,909 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.69% of the company’s stock.

BrightSphere Investment Group Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:BSIG opened at $30.12 on Tuesday. BrightSphere Investment Group has a 52 week low of $18.09 and a 52 week high of $31.52. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $28.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.29. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25 and a beta of 1.45.

BrightSphere Investment Group (NYSE:BSIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $123.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.95 million. BrightSphere Investment Group had a net margin of 13.92% and a return on equity of 7,606.72%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BrightSphere Investment Group will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BrightSphere Investment Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. BrightSphere Investment Group’s payout ratio is currently 2.42%.

About BrightSphere Investment Group

BrightSphere Investment Group Inc is a publically owned asset management holding company. The firm provides its services to individuals and institutions. It manages separate client focused portfolios through its subsidiaries. The firm also launches equity mutual funds for its clients. It invests in public equity, fixed income, and alternative investment markets through its subsidiaries.