Acadian Asset Management (NYSE:AAMI) Hits New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares hit a 52‑week high — AAMI traded as high as $68.82 and last at $66.97 on volume of 395,081 shares, giving the company a market cap of about $2.4 billion.
• Analyst consensus is cautious — one analyst rates the stock a Buy and four rate it Hold, with an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56, well below the current share price.
• Fundamentals and payout — the firm reported Q EPS of $1.32 and revenue of $169.7M, has a P/E of 30.4 and ROE of 165.9%, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.10 (annualized $0.40, ~0.6% yield) from $0.01.

Acadian Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:AAMI - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $68.82 and last traded at $66.97, with a volume of 395081 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $66.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Acadian Asset Management in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Acadian Asset Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Acadian Asset Management from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Acadian Asset Management from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Evercore set a $60.00 target price on shares of Acadian Asset Management in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.00.

Acadian Asset Management Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.38 and a beta of 1.26. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $54.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.37.

Acadian Asset Management (NYSE:AAMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $169.70 million for the quarter. Acadian Asset Management had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 165.86%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Acadian Asset Management Inc. will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acadian Asset Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This is a positive change from Acadian Asset Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Acadian Asset Management's payout ratio is currently 18.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Acadian Asset Management news, Director Robert J. Chersi sold 28,753 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.30, for a total transaction of $1,475,028.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 37,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,917,799.20. This represents a 43.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Barbara Trebbi sold 9,691 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.22, for a total transaction of $496,373.02. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,832,190.62. This represents a 21.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 26.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acadian Asset Management

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Acadian Asset Management by 380.2% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 802 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acadian Asset Management during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Acadian Asset Management during the second quarter worth approximately $61,000. WealthCollab LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acadian Asset Management during the second quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acadian Asset Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $119,000. 98.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Acadian Asset Management

Acadian Asset Management is a global investment management firm specializing in quantitative research and systematic strategies. Since its founding in 1986, the firm has developed data-driven models designed to identify and capture investment opportunities across equity and fixed income markets. By integrating advanced analytics, proprietary risk management tools and a disciplined investment process, Acadian seeks to deliver consistent performance for institutional clients.

The firm's core offerings include institutional equity portfolios, fixed income strategies and multi-asset solutions.

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