Barclays cuts St. James’s Place stock rating on AI disruption risk

try{ var _=i o; . if(!_||_&&typeof _==="object"&&_.expiry Oil extends surge on concerns surrounding Strait of Hormuz closure Gold dips, reverses course as stronger dollar weighs amid Iran conflict Gold price surge after Iran attack could fade, Pepperstone says Dollar surges to over five-week high on U.S.-Iran escalation; euro, sterling slip FLASH SALE (South Africa Philippines Nigeria) FLASH SALE Barclays cuts St. James’s Place stock rating on AI disruption risk By Investing.com Analyst Ratings Published 03/03/2026, 03:37 AM Barclays cuts St. James’s Place stock rating on AI disruption risk 0 SJP -3.49% UBSG -4.62% Investing.com - Barclays downgraded St. James’s Place plc (LON:STJ) to Equalweight from Overweight on Tuesday and lowered its price target to GBP13.00 from GBP16.80. Despite the downgrade, InvestingPro Tips highlight that the company has maintained dividend payments for 30 consecutive years and trades at a low P/E ratio relative to near-term earnings growth. However, analysts anticipate sales decline in the current year, aligning with Barclays’ cautious stance. InvestingPro offers 8 additional exclusive tips for STJ investors. The firm cited artificial intelligence disruption as a real and potentially near-term threat for UK wealth managers. Barclays noted that fully functional UK wealth apps are low cost and inexpensive to design and implement. The analyst said St. James’s Place has fundamentally turned around its charging structure, operations and capital distribution in the last two years. Barclays expects the management team to meet its targets and incorporated those targets in its estimates. Barclays sees hybrid AI and adviser models as likely outcomes. The firm views downside risks on growth and margin compression as outweighing potential upside from higher agent productivity. The firm said margin compression from AI disruption is a likely near-term outcome and incorporated that threat in its valuation considerations as it poses a legitimate overhan...