RBC Capital upgrades St James’s Place to ‘outperform’

RBC Capital Markets upgraded its stance on St James’s Place to ‘outperform’ from ‘sector perform’ on Friday and lifted the price target to 1,400p from 1,390p.

It noted that STJ has the strongest distribution model in UK wealth, and following a de-rating, RBC reckons the shares now stand out as offering value.

"Organic growth remains strong in absolute and relative terms whilst market expectations for flows now look achievable," it said.

"The shares have typically tracked movements in the net cash result, where we expect double-digit growth.

"This growth, combined with an attractive dividend yield (4.9% FY23E), means the stock could deliver a mid-teens total shareholder return, by just maintaining the current (undemanding) P/E rating, but we also see potential for multiple expansion."

At 0845 BST, the shares were up 0.8% at 1,134.50p.