Broker Numis rates Rathbone shares 'hold' after broker note

20th Feb 2014 10:03

Numis has rated investment manager Rathbone Brothers a 'hold' as underlying pre-tax profits of 50.5m pounds were exactly in line with the broker's estimate."Diluted adjusted earnings per share at 86.1p was a little better than our estimated 83.3p and consensus 84.4p, due to a lower effective tax rate, mainly due to one off items.The dividend at 49p was marginally lower than its estimate and consensus of 50p, the broker told clients."We regard Rathbones as one of the quality names in the wealth management sectorand thus we believe it merits a slight premium rating, due to its consistent netinflow record, consistent 30% operating margin and significant bias towardsrecurring fee income," Numis said."On 19 times 2014 earnings per share, the rating already fully reflects the quality in our view."Numis set a target price of 1,556p.FP