Analysts at Berenberg lowered their target price on asset manager Liontrust from 1,965.0p to 1,850.0p on Thursday after the group revealed increased market volatility at the start of 2022 had caused assets under management and advice to fall to roughly £36.0bn.
Berenberg said that Liontrust had reported “decent” third-quarter 2022 asset gathering for the three-month period to 31 December, in line with its expectations, but given the company’s high exposure to UK retail, it stated it was “cautious” on 2022 inflows for the firm, as it said retail investors can “quickly pull back” from investing in periods of market volatility.
The German bank highlighted that said volatility had, in turn, led it to decrease estimates for the firm.
“Liontrust’s shares are down by circa 18% year-to-date, but still currently trade on circa 16x FY 2022E, at the top end of their historical range of 11.5-16.5x. While we are positive on the company’s growth and exposure to sustainable assets, we view the shares as fully valued at these levels,” said the analysts, who reiterated their ‘hold’ rating on the stock.
