Morgan Stanley Downgrades BrightSphere Investment Group (NYSE:BSIG) to Underweight

BrightSphere Investment Group (NYSE:BSIG) was downgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $26.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $23.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 4.06% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on BSIG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of BrightSphere Investment Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of BrightSphere Investment Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd.

BrightSphere Investment Group Price Performance

Shares of BSIG stock opened at $27.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 1.41. BrightSphere Investment Group has a 1-year low of $15.23 and a 1-year high of $27.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.45.

BrightSphere Investment Group (NYSE:BSIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.02. BrightSphere Investment Group had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 871.33%. The business had revenue of $109.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Analysts expect that BrightSphere Investment Group will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of BrightSphere Investment Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in BrightSphere Investment Group in the second quarter worth $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,997 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in BrightSphere Investment Group by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in BrightSphere Investment Group in the second quarter worth $147,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in BrightSphere Investment Group by 67.9% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 3,561 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.69% of the company’s stock.

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.