3 Asset Managers Hitting 52-Week Highs to Buy for the Long Haul

In Tuesday’s trading, 239 stocks hit 52-week highs, eight of which were asset managers. That was four times the number of U.S.-listed stocks that hit 52-week lows. 

Stocktwits shows that of the eight asset managers hitting 52-week highs, four have less than 1,000 Stocktwit followers, which suggests that not enough of the retail crowd has caught on to these stocks despite hitting 52-week highs.   

Of the four with less than 1,000 Stocktwit followers, these three are excellent long-term buys. Here’s why.  

Cohen & Steers 

Cohen & Steers (CNS)is a global investment manager specializing in real assets and alternative income investments. It offers open-end funds, institutional accounts and closed-end funds. 

One of its most popular ETFs is the iShares Cohen & Steers REIT ETF,which has $2.31 billion in net assets. It invests in large real estate REITs such as Prologis (PLD)and Equinix (EQIX). The ETF tracks the performance of the Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index, a collection of approximately 30 real estate companies. 

As of Aug. 31, it had $88.1 billion in AUM (assets under management), up $3.5 billion from the end of July. After several years of net outflows—$3.6 billion in net outflows in 2022 and 2023—it managed to generate net inflows of $8 million, a sign the commercial real estate market might be bottoming.

In the second quarter ended June 30, its revenue fell 0.8% to $121.7 million, while its adjusted net income decreased by 0.3% to $34.5 million. 

Thanks to a 49% gain over the past year, Cohen & Steers stock is now within $7.12 of its Nov. 8, 2021, all-time high of $101.22. The company has hit a 52-week high on 23 occasions in the past year, yesterday being the latest. 

Only 131 people follow Cohen & Steers at Stocktwits, compared to 12,382 for Blackstone (BX), the world’s largest alternative asset manager.  

If you believe in real estate, CNS is an excellent long-term play. 

Victory Capital Holdings

Victory Capital Holdings (VCTR)is a global asset manager with $172.1 billion in AUM as of July 31. The company does a little of everything, acting as a boutique asset manager and providing a fully integrated, centralized operating and distribution platform.

Since going public in 2018, it’s grown tremendously through organic revenue and four strategic acquisitions:  USAA Asset Management Company, THB Asset Management, New Energy Capital, and WestEnd Advisors.

As a result, its AUM has increased by over $100 billion. Its scale has pushed operating margins 12 percentage points higher over the five years. The additional cash flow has allowed it to increase its investments in its business, generating even more profits in the process.

Since Q1 2022, it’s been busy buying back its shares. At the end of Q1 2022, it had 74 million shares outstanding. At the end of Q2 2024, it was 66 million, 11% lower in just nine quarters. 

As of June 30, its adjusted EBITDA margin was 53.0%, 210 basis points higher than a year ago. So, even if it grows quarterly revenues by less than double digits, it’s still been able to boost its profitability. 

Ten analysts cover its stock, with five rating it a Buy and a $57 target price, higher than where it currently trades. 

It has slightly more Stocktwit followers at 246. It has hit a 52-week high 48 times over the past year, with 45 in 2024. Unsurprisingly, its shares are up 61% year-to-date. 

Brookfield Corporation

Brookfield Corporation (BN)is one of my favorite financial services companies. CEO Bruce Flatt has worked at Brookfield for a long time -- he joined the company in 1990 and became CEO in 2002. When he became CEO, it was still called Brascan Corporation, a company whose history dates back to 1899.

It became Brookfield Corporation in December 2022 when it spun off its asset management business into an independent, publicly traded company, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM). It continues to own 75% of this business. It also owns a percentage of four other spinoffs: Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP)(BIPC), Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP)(BEPC), Brookfield Business Partners (BBU)(BBUC), and Brookfield Reinsurance.

Brookfield is currently in discussions with Canada’s largest pension funds and the Canadian federal government to create a $50-billion fund that it would manage to invest in Canadian assets. 

The pensions would commit $36 billion, the federal government $10 billion, and Brookfield the other $4 billion. While it’s still early in discussions, the fund would enable the Canadian pension funds to increase their participation in the domestic market, something critics have pointed out as a flaw in an otherwise excellent investing model that’s served Canadian pensioners well.

Even though the company has offices all over the world and Bruce Flatt spends much of his time in New York and London, Brookfield remains surprisingly unknown. Despite its $83 billion market cap, it has just 755 Stocktwit followers.  

If I could only buy one, Brookfield would be it without question.

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