Baltimore-based Legg Mason?s share price showed small signs of revival Thursday after plummeting the previous day following company announcements that it would miss its previous earnings estimates.
In early afternoon trading, Legg Mason shares hovered around $87.85 cents per share after closing Wednesday at $87.15 per share. Its stock price had fallen 17 percent Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Legg Mason, an asset management company, announced that net income for the quarter ending Sept. 30 would be Wall Street analysts estimates of about 96 cents to $1.02 per share or between $138 million and $148 million.
The company stated the lower-than-anticipated estimate was due to: “Lower revenues for the September quarter than expected, with revenues approximately 1 percent less than the company?s revenues in the June quarter.”
The company also blamed “changes in the mix of the company?s mutual fund assets under management during the quarter toward lower revenue-generating fixed income assets.”
A company spokeswoman said Legg Mason would not comment beyond the release. The company plans to release its earnings report on Oct. 24.
News of the lower profit estimates prompted investment firms to downgrade their ratings, Guy Moszkowski a Merrill Lynch analyst, downgraded his rating to sell from buy saying that Legg Mason?s shares would trade at a discount compared to other asset management firm.
