BrightSphere Investment Group (NYSE:BSIG) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of BrightSphere Investment Group (NYSE:BSIG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

BSIG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on BrightSphere Investment Group from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of BrightSphere Investment Group in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of BrightSphere Investment Group from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th.

BrightSphere Investment Group Price Performance

BrightSphere Investment Group stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.56. 180,642 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 169,261. BrightSphere Investment Group has a 12 month low of $15.23 and a 12 month high of $23.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $22.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $854.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 1.47.

BrightSphere Investment Group (NYSE:BSIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.19. BrightSphere Investment Group had a return on equity of 438.16% and a net margin of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $131.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $127.57 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BrightSphere Investment Group will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.

BrightSphere Investment Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. BrightSphere Investment Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Suren Rana sold 109,960 shares of BrightSphere Investment Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.74, for a total transaction of $2,280,570.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 130,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,255.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 24.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BrightSphere Investment Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BSIG. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in BrightSphere Investment Group by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 759,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,344,000 after buying an additional 172,318 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BrightSphere Investment Group during the first quarter worth about $378,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of BrightSphere Investment Group during the first quarter worth about $1,050,000. Denali Advisors LLC raised its stake in BrightSphere Investment Group by 99.5% during the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 157,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,588,000 after purchasing an additional 78,347 shares during the period. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in BrightSphere Investment Group by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 22,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares in the last quarter. 98.69% of the stock is currently owned by 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.