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Why Is SEI (SEIC) Up 5.3% Since Last Earnings Report?

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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for SEI Investments (SEIC - Free Report) . Shares have added about 5.3% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is SEI due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

SEI Investments Beats on Q3 Earnings, Revenues Grow

SEI Investments’ third-quarter 2019 earnings of 86 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 83 cents. The figure reflects a rise of 7.5% from the prior-year quarter.

Results were primarily driven by growth in revenues and lower expenses. However, a decline in assets under management (AUM) was a headwind.

Net income was $132.2 million, up from $128.3 million recorded in the year-ago quarter.

Revenues Improve, Expenses & AUM Decline

Total revenues were $416.3 million, up 1.9% year over year. The rise reflected higher asset management, administration and distribution fees. Moreover, the reported figure marginally surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $416 million.

Total expenses were $295.6 million, down marginally year over year. The contraction was led by a fall in almost all components of expenses, except for compensation, benefits and other personnel expenses, data processing and computer-related expenses, depreciation costs, and amortization expenses.

Operating income increased 7.3% year over year to $120.6 million.

As of Sep 30, 2019, AUM was $334.7 billion, reflecting a decline of nearly 1.3% from the prior-year quarter. Client assets under administration (AUA) were $662 billion, up 15% year over year. Note that client AUA does not include $12.4 billion related to Funds of Funds assets that were reported on Sep 30, 2019.

Share Repurchase

In the reported quarter, SEI Investments bought back 1.4 million shares for $81.4 million.

Outlook

For the fourth quarter, management expects capital expenditures (excluding capitalized software) to be $15 million and about half will likely be related to the facility expansion. For 2020, capital expenditures are anticipated to be nearly $40 million, with almost 50% of it will be related to the facility expansion.

The company expects effective tax rate for the fourth quarter to be around 21%.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates.

VGM Scores

Currently, SEI has a nice Growth Score of B, a grade with the same score on the momentum front. However, the stock was allocated a grade of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of C. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of this revision has been net zero. Notably, SEI has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.


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