Fiera Capital (TSE:FSZ) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

Fiera Capital (TSE:FSZ) released its earnings results on Friday. The company reported C$0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, FiscalAI reports. Fiera Capital had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 7.80%. The firm had revenue of C$155.14 million during the quarter.

Here are the key takeaways from Fiera Capital’s conference call:

• Flows were challenging: quarterly public-market net outflows excluding sub-advised mandates were CAD 2.2 billion, while sub-advised outflows reached CAD 5.3 billion. Management also expects an additional CAD 1.5 billion transfer to PineStone and a roughly CAD 500 million equity-mandate redemption in the third quarter.
• Total AUM rose 2.1% sequentially to CAD 163.5 billion as market appreciation more than offset net outflows, but lower average public-market AUM and an unfavorable asset mix reduced base management fees.
• Private Markets continued to build momentum, with approximately CAD 100 million in new mandates, more than CAD 115 million in net inflows, CAD 500 million deployed during the quarter, and a CAD 1.9 billion pipeline of undeployed capital. Demand was strongest in real estate and private credit, including a new note feeder for life insurers.
• Investment performance improved across several flagship strategies, including large-cap and emerging-market equities, while 91% of fixed-income AUM outperformed its benchmark over the past year. Fiera also appointed Nicholas Smart to lead Canadian Large Cap Equities following actions related to professional-conduct standards.
• Management emphasized cost discipline, with year-to-date SG&A down 5.5% and the adjusted EBITDA margin stable at 27%, despite lower revenue. The company renewed its normal-course issuer bid for up to CAD 4 million of share repurchases, maintained a dividend payout ratio below 50% of free cash flow, and expects leverage to decline in the second half.

Fiera Capital Stock Performance

Fiera Capital stock opened at C$4.75 on Friday. Fiera Capital has a fifty-two week low of C$4.59 and a fifty-two week high of C$7.02. The company has a market capitalization of C$503.81 million, a PE ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of -0.87 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of C$5.19 and a 200-day moving average price of C$5.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 344.23, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 21.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FSZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. National Bank Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Fiera Capital from C$6.00 to C$5.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$6.00 target price on Fiera Capital and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Desjardins dropped their target price on Fiera Capital from C$6.50 to C$6.25 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Moderate Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fiera Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$4.75.

Fiera Capital Company Profile

Fiera Capital Corporation is an employee owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional investors, mutual funds, charitable organizations, and private clients. It manages separate client-focused equity, fixed income, and balanced portfolios. The firm also launches and manages equity, fixed income, and balanced mutual funds and income trusts for its clients. It invests in the public equity and fixed income markets across the globe with a focus on Canada. The firm primarily invests in growth and value stocks of small-cap companies.