Noah (NYSE:NOAH) Cut to Neutral at UBS Group

Noah (NYSE:NOAH) was downgraded by equities research analysts at UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Thursday, FinViz reports. They presently have a $13.00 price objective on the asset manager’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 2.44% from the company’s current price.

Noah Stock Performance

NYSE:NOAH opened at $12.69 on Thursday. Noah has a fifty-two week low of $7.14 and a fifty-two week high of $15.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.54. The firm has a market cap of $839.28 million, a PE ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 0.78.

Noah (NYSE:NOAH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The asset manager reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $84.74 million for the quarter. Noah had a net margin of 26.81% and a return on equity of 7.15%. Research analysts predict that Noah will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Noah declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 28th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the asset manager to reacquire up to 10.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Noah

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOAH. Davis Selected Advisers increased its position in Noah by 121.7% during the 2nd quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 1,681,650 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $16,228,000 after purchasing an additional 923,122 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Noah by 50.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 255,606 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,472,000 after purchasing an additional 85,771 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Noah by 52.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 89,904 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $868,000 after buying an additional 30,810 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Noah in the second quarter worth about $615,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Noah in the second quarter worth about $510,000. 42.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Noah Company Profile

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.