Noah (NYSE:NOAH) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Noah (NYSE:NOAH) was downgraded by Morgan Stanley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They currently have a $13.00 target price on the asset manager’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 1.48% from the company’s previous close.

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

Noah Price Performance

NOAH opened at $12.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.43. Noah has a 1 year low of $7.14 and a 1 year high of $15.44. The firm has a market cap of $847.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.78.

Noah (NYSE:NOAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The asset manager reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Noah had a return on equity of 6.43% and a net margin of 23.53%. The business had revenue of $84.74 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Noah will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Noah announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, August 28th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the asset manager to reacquire up to 10.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Noah by 2,218.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 2,374 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado purchased a new position in Noah during the first quarter valued at $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Noah by 510.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,982 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 3,330 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Noah during the third quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, JBF Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Noah during the second quarter valued at $106,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.67% of the company’s stock.

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.