The Pinnacle Investment Management Group Ltd (ASX: PNI) share price was one of last week's strongest performers on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).
Shares in the Aussie listed investment company (LIC) jumped 25.9% higher to close the week at $9.43 per share. That meant the Pinnacle share price closed just shy of its new all-time high of $9.50 set during Friday's trade.
Why did the Pinnacle share price surge to a new record high?
Shares in the Aussie investment group continue to go from strength to strength. Since bottoming out at $2.37 per share amidst the March 2020 bear market, the Pinnacle share price has been charging higher.
In fact, shares in the Aussie LIC are up nearly 300% since that 52-week low 11 months ago. Broader market strength and lots of money looking to invest in equities have certainly helped.
However, the big factor for last week's 25.9% surge was a quarterly update from Pinnacle.
Pinnacle announced net profit after tax (NPAT) attributable to shareholders up 120% to $30.3 million. Basic earnings per share (EPS) surged 116% to 17.5 cents, up from 8.1 cents in the first half of FY2020. Diluted EPS similarly jumped 117% to 16.7 cents in a strong turnaround in the first half.
Those strong earnings numbers have given Pinnacle the chance to increase dividends to shareholders. In fact, the Aussie investment manager announced a 70% increase in its interim dividend from this time last year.
Pinnacle will pay a fully franked dividend of 11.7 cents per share which represents 1.25% dividend yield at Friday's closing price.
The Aussie investment manager noted strong investment performance as markets rebounded in the second half of 2020 alongside strong retail and institutional inflows that boosted total funds under management (FUM). Pinnacle's ending FUM totalled $70.5 billion including $16.7 billion from retail and $53.8 in institutional funds.
The market responded positively to this latest update, with the Pinnacle share price gaining more than 25% to end the week's trade as one of last week's top ASX 200 performers.
