Noah (NYSE:NOAH) Downgraded to “Equal Weight” Rating by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley cut shares of Noah (NYSE:NOAH) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $13.00 price target on the asset manager’s stock.

Separately, UBS Group lowered shares of Noah from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

Noah Stock Performance

Noah stock opened at $13.07 on Friday. Noah has a one year low of $7.14 and a one year high of $15.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $12.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $864.45 million, a PE ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.78.

Noah (NYSE:NOAH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The asset manager reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $84.74 million during the quarter. Noah had a net margin of 23.53% and a return on equity of 6.43%. On average, analysts forecast that Noah will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Noah announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the asset manager to buy up to 10.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Noah by 10.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,786,627 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $24,441,000 after buying an additional 167,685 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Noah during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $199,000. Wolverine Trading LLC bought a new position in Noah during the third quarter worth $196,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Noah in the third quarter worth $566,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Noah during the third quarter valued at $65,000. 42.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Noah

Noah Holdings Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a wealth and asset management service provider with the focus on investment and asset allocation services for high net worth individuals and enterprises in Mainland of China, Hong Kong, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Wealth Management, Asset Management, and Other Services.