We are upgrading our recommendation on Invesco, Ltd. (IVZ) to Outperform based on its sustained earnings and healthy asset under management. The company's fourth quarter 2011 earnings inched past the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Results were aided by enhanced interest and dividend income as well as lower interest expense.
An uptrend in the global equity markets helped in improving the long-term investment performance of the company, which is further expected to uplift the company's operating results. Moreover, the operating leverage is expected to improve significantly over the long term due to its cost-control initiatives.
Invesco is well-positioned to benefit from improved global investment flows, resulting from its broad diversification. Our six-month target price of $28.00 per share equates to about 14.5x our earnings estimate for 2012. Combined with the annual dividend of $0.49 per share, this target price implies an expected total return of 13.8% over that period.
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