BrightSphere Investment Group (NYSE:BSIG) Stock Price Down 2.7% Following Analyst Downgrade

BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG)’s share price dropped 2.7% during mid-day trading on Friday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $26.00 to $25.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the stock. BrightSphere Investment Group traded as low as $26.73 and last traded at $27.26. Approximately 70,757 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 251,542 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.02.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on BSIG. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of BrightSphere Investment Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $33.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of BrightSphere Investment Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on BrightSphere Investment Group from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of BrightSphere Investment Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BrightSphere Investment Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BrightSphere Investment Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Azora Capital LP lifted its stake 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 holdings 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 during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in BrightSphere Investment Group by 4.8% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,098,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,910,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in BrightSphere Investment Group by 25.3% during the third 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 period. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BrightSphere Investment Group by 1.9% in the second 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. 98.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BrightSphere Investment Group Trading Down 3.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.48.

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

BrightSphere Investment Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. BrightSphere Investment Group’s payout ratio is 2.42%.

BrightSphere Investment Group Company Profile

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.