BrightSphere Investment Group (NYSE:BSIG) Trading Down 2.7% After Analyst Downgrade

BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG) shares traded down 2.7% 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. 70,757 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 251,542 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.02.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BrightSphere Investment Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of BrightSphere Investment Group by 297.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 154,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,414,000 after acquiring an additional 115,300 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in BrightSphere Investment Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,204,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BrightSphere Investment Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $27,910,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of BrightSphere Investment Group by 329.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 28,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 21,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.69% of the company’s stock.

BrightSphere Investment Group Stock Down 3.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 1.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.97 and its 200-day moving average is $25.48.

BrightSphere Investment Group (NYSE:BSIG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.07. The business 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. BrightSphere Investment Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.