Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Trading Down 8.9% on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS – Get Rating) dropped 8.9% during trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $89.46 and last traded at $90.14. Approximately 11,325 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 99% from the average daily volume of 1,012,760 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.97.

The asset manager reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($1.10). Northern Trust had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 15.12%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 40.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 20th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $97.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.59.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Northern Trust by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 18,080 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. Pendal Group Ltd bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $239,000. Garland Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Northern Trust by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Garland Capital Management Inc. now owns 46,245 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,092,000 after purchasing an additional 3,930 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners Inc. increased its stake in Northern Trust by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners Inc. now owns 151,187 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $13,379,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $1,430,000. Institutional investors own 81.44% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Trading Down 8.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.33.

About Northern Trust

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Northern Trust Corp. is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of asset servicing, fund administration, asset management, fiduciary, and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals. It operates through the following segments: Corporate & Institutional Services and Wealth Management.