St James’s Place PLC has been granted a share price target upgrade by Citi analysts on hiked earnings estimates thanks to expectation-beating fourth-quarter flows.
Fourth quarter flows had outdone expectations, Citi said ahead of full-year figures on February 27, prompting a share price target hike from 1,100p to 1,280p.
St James’s Place last month unveiled record funds under management of £190.2 billion for the year to December on net inflows of £4.33 billion.
Citi noted its estimates on per-share earnings for the year ahead were set to increase by around 10% as a result.
Earnings were expected to sit at 41.1p for the second half, analysts added, outdoing consensus by 2%, before overshooting by between 8% and 9% over the next two years.
Net flows for the year ahead were seen climbing by 3.3%, as assured pre-tax profit margin on mature funds under management hit 28 basis points, against the 25 expected prior.
A ‘buy’ rating was also reiterated, with shares up 1.2% at 1,115p on Monday.