Brokers are tentatively suggesting that next week’s update from St James's Place PLC (LSE:STJ) (30 July) might mark a recovery for the wealth manager.
RBC sees the long-term value but adds that uncertainty remains elevated over the next 12 months and can envisage a mixed first-half update overall given “the myriad of risks”.
The Canadian broker wants to see a healthy underlying performance, reassurance on the tail risks from its clients’ fee problems and more clarity on near-term strategic initiatives.
JP Morgan is more confident and sees most of the bad news now in the rear-view mirror.
“The resilience in gross flows of the past quarters might suggest smaller-than-anticipated headwinds, and we do see upside risk to consensus net flow estimates," it said.
“In our view, the current valuation reflects uncertainty, which should begin to dissipate and does not capture future growth prospects,” JPM told investors.
It has a price target of 730p while RBC’s target is 550p.