Noah (NYSE:NOAH) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Noah Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NOAH)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $8.57, but opened at $8.27. Noah shares last traded at $8.3460, with a volume of 1,523 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Noah from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Noah from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Noah from $12.00 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Noah from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.75.

Noah Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $8.98 and a 200 day moving average of $10.13. The stock has a market cap of $565.91 million, a PE ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 0.82.

Noah (NYSE:NOAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The asset manager reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Noah had a return on equity of 6.37% and a net margin of 22.57%.The company had revenue of $91.24 million for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that Noah Holdings Ltd. will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Noah Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a $1.3806 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 778.0%. This is a boost from Noah’s previous annual dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. Noah’s payout ratio is presently 51.22%.

Institutional Trading of Noah

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in Noah by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 6,377,766 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $64,033,000 after acquiring an additional 424,717 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Noah in the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,128,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Noah by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 468,510 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,641,000 after purchasing an additional 40,332 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC lifted its position in shares of Noah by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 454,675 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,565,000 after purchasing an additional 117,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Noah by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 444,967 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,467,000 after purchasing an additional 30,691 shares during the last quarter. 42.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Noah Company Profile

Noah Holdings Limited is a China-based wealth management and asset management firm specializing in tailored advisory services for high-net-worth individuals, family offices and select institutional clients. The company offers a broad range of investment solutions that draw on its deep market research and partner network to provide access to both onshore and offshore products. Noah’s business model centers on delivering structured investment products, portfolio management services and family wealth planning solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of affluent clients in China and beyond.

Noah’s main service lines include discretionary portfolio management, fund distribution, private equity and venture capital fund platforms, and alternative investment strategies such as real estate and insurance-linked products.