StockNews.com Begins Coverage on BrightSphere Investment Group (NYSE:BSIG)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BrightSphere Investment Group (NYSE:BSIG) in a research note issued to investors on Sunday. The firm issued a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on BSIG. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded BrightSphere Investment Group from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of BrightSphere Investment Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on BrightSphere Investment Group from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BrightSphere Investment Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.50.

BrightSphere Investment Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $982.96 million, a P/E ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $29.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.74. BrightSphere Investment Group has a 52-week low of $18.09 and a 52-week high of $31.52.

BrightSphere Investment Group (NYSE:BSIG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $114.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BrightSphere Investment Group will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BrightSphere Investment Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of ?. BrightSphere Investment Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BrightSphere Investment Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of BrightSphere Investment Group by 2,397.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in BrightSphere Investment Group during the third quarter worth approximately $89,000. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in BrightSphere Investment Group during the third quarter worth approximately $213,000. Optimist Retirement Group LLC bought a new stake in BrightSphere Investment Group during the third quarter worth approximately $238,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in BrightSphere Investment Group during the third quarter worth approximately $311,000. 98.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.