Standard Life Aberdeen shares could rally ahead of H1 earnings
The Edinburgh-headquartered asset manager will unveil its half-year results on Friday 7 August, with outgoing vice-chairman Martin Gilbert hinting at further M&A under new CEO Stephen Bird.
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) will unveil its half-year (H1) earnings on Friday 7 August, with the asset manager seeing its profits hit by the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
One path for growth could be M&A, according to outgoing vice-chairman Martin Gilbert, with the asset manager well-positioned to capitalise on potential targets under new CEO Stephen Bird.
‘The strength of the balance sheet is incredible. It's one of the things that probably attracted Stephen to the business,’ Gilbert told Financial News in an interview.
‘[Stephen] has the strength of the balance sheet to build whatever he wants. I don’t think he’s taken the job to stand still. He’s taken the job to build the business,’ he added.
Consolidation within the asset management sector is rife, with SLA forming after Standard Life merged with Aberdeen Asset Management in 2017.
Declines in valuations amid the Covid-19 crisis could lead to opportunties for larger players to gobble up smaller competitors or even drive larger deals, according to a recent report on asset management M&A in the Covid-19 era by Mayer Brown.
‘Asset managers with fundamentally sound businesses and investment strategies are still inherently valuable, but market turmoil and uncertainty about when AUM and revenues will recover may lead to a downward adjustment of valuation multiples for these businesses,' the report said.
‘That, in turn, could generate renewed momentum in deal activity in the sector,’ it added.
Standard Life Aberdeen: outlook for 2020
Despite the obvious challenges the firm faces, it boasts a strong balance sheet and capital generation potential capable of returning value to shareholders.
‘The outlook for the markets and our industry in 2020 is turbulent with the additional complexity of Covid-19,’ SLA CEO Keith Skeoch said.
‘Importantly we are focused on what we can control, namely delivering for our clients, customers, colleagues and shareholders; diversifying our revenues; investing for the future and maintaining financial discipline,’ he added.
SLA managed to maintain a healthy dividend amid all the market turmoil, confirming a final dividend of 14.3p (FY19 dividend of 21.6p) at the end of March. Investors will be interested to see if the asset manager will be able to do the same in 2020.
Barclays downgrades Standard Life Aberdeen ahead of H1 earnings
Ahead of what is likely to be a disappointing set of H1 result on Friday, analysts at Barclays have downgraded SLA to ‘underweight’ and given a target price of 240p for the stock, implying a potential downside of -9%.
SLA closed at 264p per share on Wednesday, with the stock down 21% year-to-date.
How to trade stocks with IG
Looking to trade the Standard Life Aberdeen and other stocks? Open a live or demo account with IG and buy (long) or sell (short) shares using derivatives like CFDs and spread bets in a few easy steps:
- Create an IG trading account or log in to your existing account
- Enter ‘Standard Life’ in the search bar and select it
- Choose your position size
- Click on ‘buy’ or ‘sell’ in the deal ticket
- Confirm the trade
This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
Act on share opportunities today
Go long or short on thousands of international stocks with spread bets and CFDs.
- Get full exposure for a comparatively small deposit
- Trade on spreads from just 0.1%
- Get greater order book visibility with direct market access
See opportunity on a stock?
Try a risk-free trade in your demo account, and see whether you’re on to something.
- Log in to your demo
- Take your position
- See whether your hunch pays off
See opportunity on a stock?
Don’t miss your chance – upgrade to a live account to take advantage.
- Trade a huge range of popular stocks
- Analyse and deal seamlessly on fast, intuitive charts
- See and react to breaking news in-platform
See opportunity on a stock?
Don’t miss your chance. Log in to take advantage while conditions prevail.
Live prices on most popular markets
- Equities
- Indices
- Forex
- Commodities
Prices above are subject to our website terms and agreements. Prices are indicative only. All share prices are delayed by at least 15 minutes.
Prices above are subject to our website terms and agreements. Prices are indicative only. All shares prices are delayed by at least 15 mins.
