Shares in Australian financial services provider IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX: IFL) are up slightly today to $10.99 at the time of writing after the stock was upgraded to outperform from neutral by Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)
The Macquarie note raised the share price target for IOOF Holdings from $11.50 to $12.10 as the broker considered the company's track record would allow investors to put aside concerns about growth margins and the risk of the OnePath acquisition in October 2017 – which saw IOOF shares underperform the S&P/ASX 200 by 14%.
IOOF is a wealth management stalwart – having been around in one form or another for more than 170 years – starting out in 1846 as a friendly society.
The IOOF interim result, reported on February 16, was solid, with underlying NPAT up 16%, net investment inflows up, margins up and costs down.
While shares have dropped since the OnePath announcement, down 95c from an October 18 high of $11.94, the trend could pick up thanks to Macquarie's investment note.
