XPS Pensions Group (LON:XPS) Issues Earnings Results

XPS Pensions Group (LON:XPS) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported GBX 13 EPS for the quarter, Digital Look Earnings reports. XPS Pensions Group had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 14.67%. The company had revenue of £262.96 million for the quarter.

Here are the key takeaways from XPS Pensions Group’s conference call:

• Revenue grew 13% and adjusted EBITDA rose 9%, with core performance even stronger after normalizing for the prior-year McCloud one-off and the Polaris acquisition. Management highlighted underlying organic revenue growth of 12% and underlying EBITDA growth of 15%.
• The business saw margin improvement, with underlying EBITDA margin up 70 basis points after adjusting for McCloud and higher National Insurance costs. Adjusted diluted EPS increased 8%, and the full-year dividend was raised 11%.
• Market conditions remain favorable, as pension schemes move from deficits to surpluses and face new funding and surplus-release regulation. Management sees a multi-year tailwind from more buyouts, run-on activity, and insurer support work.
• The Polaris acquisition is integrating well and is expanding XPS into broader insurance consulting opportunities. Management said the deal has already opened access to a much larger client set, especially in life insurance, with growing pipeline opportunities.
• AI is viewed as an opportunity to improve productivity, differentiation, and client service, with the company already building and deploying its own tools. XPS believes its scale, specialist focus, and existing tech platforms like Radar and Aurora position it well to benefit.

XPS Pensions Group Stock Performance

Shares of XPS opened at GBX 308.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 53.02, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is GBX 307.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 319.63. XPS Pensions Group has a 1 year low of GBX 275 and a 1 year high of GBX 404. The firm has a market cap of £630.77 million, a PE ratio of 25.92 and a beta of 0.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 460 price objective on shares of XPS Pensions Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 469 price objective on shares of XPS Pensions Group in a report on Thursday. Berenberg Bank reissued a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 440 price target on shares of XPS Pensions Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 485 target price on shares of XPS Pensions Group in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 456.50.

XPS Pensions Group Company Profile

XPS Group is a leading UK consulting and administration business specialising in the pensions and insurance sectors. A FTSE 250 company, XPS combines expertise and insight with advanced technology and analytics to address the needs of over 1,300 pension schemes and their sponsoring employers on an ongoing and project basis. We undertake pensions administration for over one million members and provide advisory services to schemes and corporate sponsors in respect of schemes of all sizes, including 83 with assets over £1bn.