BidaskClub downgraded shares of Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. (NYSE:WDR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday.
Several other research firms have also weighed in on WDR. Jefferies Group LLC reiterated a hold rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Waddell & Reed Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Waddell & Reed Financial and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an underweight rating and issued a $15.00 price objective (up previously from $14.00) on shares of Waddell & Reed Financial in a research note on Monday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a hold rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Waddell & Reed Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, ValuEngine upgraded shares of Waddell & Reed Financial from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $18.06.
Shares of Waddell & Reed Financial (WDR) opened at 18.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 2.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $19.73 and its 200 day moving average is $18.24. Waddell & Reed Financial has a 12 month low of $15.02 and a 12 month high of $22.45.
Waddell & Reed Financial (NYSE:WDR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $286.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.25 million. Waddell & Reed Financial had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 18.75%. Waddell & Reed Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Waddell & Reed Financial will post $1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.
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The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 11th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 7th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.97%. Waddell & Reed Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.72%.
In other Waddell & Reed Financial news, VP Benjamin R. Clouse sold 5,903 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total transaction of $118,119.03. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 25,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $517,158.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Alan W. Kosloff sold 25,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.40, for a total transaction of $486,474.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 71,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,394,336.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bridgecreek Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waddell & Reed Financial by 10.0% in the first quarter. Bridgecreek Investment Management LLC now owns 11,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Wrapmanager Inc. raised its stake in Waddell & Reed Financial by 9.7% in the first quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 14,664 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 1,295 shares during the last quarter. State Treasurer State of Michigan raised its stake in Waddell & Reed Financial by 2.7% in the first quarter. State Treasurer State of Michigan now owns 34,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $581,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its stake in Waddell & Reed Financial by 5.2% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 48,796 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $829,000 after buying an additional 2,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Waddell & Reed Financial by 1.4% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 28,934 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.87% of the company’s stock.
Waddell & Reed Financial Company Profile
Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc, incorporated on December 24, 1981, is a holding company. The Company is a mutual fund and asset management company. The Company provides investment management, investment advisory, investment product underwriting, and distribution and shareholder services administration to Waddell & Reed Advisors group of mutual funds (the Advisors Funds), Ivy Funds, Ivy Funds Variable Insurance Portfolios (Ivy Funds VIP), InvestEd Portfolios and 529 college savings plan (collectively, the Funds), and the Ivy Global Investors Fund SICAV (the SICAV) and its Ivy Global Investors sub-funds (the IGI Funds), and institutional and separately managed accounts.
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