A lack of momentum in St James’s Place's (STJ) shares is not so much a reflection of the past year’s performance, but rather what lies ahead. After all, these full year numbers – which revealed net inflows of £10.3bn and funds under management of £95.6bn (2017: £90.7bn) – were largely what the market expected to see. However, chief executive Andrew Croft’s warning that "challenging external factors" had moderated the pace of fund flows at the start of 2019 kept the share price down on results day. The group now faces tough comparative figures from the year before, while much hinges on the month of March, which "typically accounts for around 50 per cent of the first quarter’s flows".
It is St James’s Place’s reputation for "consistently strong flows no matter the financial, political or economic situation", in Shore Capital analyst Paul De’Ath’s view, which gives the stock its "unique selling point". Thus, Mr Croft’s comments have likely caught some investors off-guard – especially amidst what Mr De’Ath calls an "unprecedented level" of political uncertainty in the UK.
Analysts at Numis still expect EPS of 62.5p this year, compared with 57.8p in 2018, moving up to 76.3p in 2020.
| ST JAMES'S PLACE (STJ) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 947p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 5.02bn | |
| TOUCH: | 947-948p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,246p | LOW: 906p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.1% | PE RATIO: | 29 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 193p | NET CASH: | £6.5bn | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Gross written premiums (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2014 | 57.4 | 294 | 36.6 | 23.30 |
| 2015 | 54.7 | 174 | 38.9 | 27.96 |
| 2016 | 52.2 | 486 | 21.5 | 33.00 |
| 2017 | 49.9 | 342 | 27.8 | 42.86 |
| 2018 | 46.5 | -84.6 | 33.0 | 48.22 |
| % change | -7 | - | +19 | +13 |
| Ex-div: | 04 Apr | |||
| Payment: | 24 May |
