UPDATE: Bank of America Downgrades on Manning & Napier Due to Uneven Flows and Performance

Bank of America published a research report early friday morning on Manning & Napier, Inc. (MN). In the report analysts Adam Beatty, Michael Carrier, and Cynthia Mayer downgraded the stock to underperform from market perform. In the report Bank of America wrote "Mixed fundamentals and a choppy outlook, combined with the current premium valuation, move our rating to Underperform as we expect MN to lag from here. Flows, though improved, were mildly negative in 1Q despite seasonal industry strength, and we expect an outflow rate of ~1% in 2013. Asset-weighted performance of the three largest equity funds is well below category median on a YTD, 1- & 3-year basis, suggesting headwinds for organic growth. Besides trading at 15x 14E, a premium to our expectation for the group, the stock is up 58% YTD. Valuation is stretched in our view (in line with peers vs a 15% discount since IPO) and the dividend yield has fallen to 3.2% from >5% on the price move." MN closed at $20.02 on Thursday.