I’ve been scouring the FTSE 250 for dirt-cheap dividend shares with ultra-high yields and it didn’t take me lengthy to seek out one.

Asset supervisor abrdn (LSE: ABDN) has had a depressing run since being fashioned by the £11bn merger between fund managers Normal Life and Aberdeen Asset Administration in March 2017. At this time, the group is price a meagre £2.87bn. 

The merger failed on each entrance because the group needed to cull greater than 100 funds that mainly did the identical job, blundered right into a authorized battle with Lloyds, which pulled £25bn of its fund mandate, and have become a comedy meme after its much-lampooned 2021 rebrand. Now I believe the sell-off has been overdone (or ovrdn, because the abrdn may say).

abrdn is due a cmbck

The abrdn share price is down 27.22% over 12 months and 43.45% over 5 years. These numbers recommend there may be deep worth right here, together with a surprising dividend revenue yield that’s now a breath-taking 9.01%.

The shares look good worth at simply 11.35 instances trailing earnings. That’s barely under the typical FTSE 250 P/E of 12.2 instances.

In in the present day’s half-year outcomes, interim CEO Jason Windsor reported an “encouraging start” to 2024, “as we become more efficient, and we enhance our propositions to lay the foundations for growth”.

Word he stated “lay” the foundations. The expansion isn’t really there but. Web working income really fell 7% to £667m on account of outflows and decrease margins, partly offset by enhance in adviser income.

Adjusted working revenue climbed 1% to £128, principally via a 9% reduce in adjusted working bills to £539m. abrdn is on observe to save lots of £150m a yr by the tip of 2025.

Tough sector

Property below administration climbed 2% to £505.9bn on account of constructive market actions and flows. On an IFRS foundation, final yr’s £169m loss swung to a £187m revenue earlier than tax.

The abrdn share price jumped virtually 5% in early buying and selling, earlier than shortly sliding again. It’s nonetheless low cost, after that flurry of pleasure, however one factor worries me.

I lately checked FTSE 100-listed family-owned fund supervisor Schroders and it’s been going via a equally rocky time. Its shares have crashed 24.12% in a yr and 46.6% over three years. The inventory at the moment trades at 13.64 instances earnings whereas yielding 6.4% a yr.

Lots of FTSE 100 financials are in the same place. Wealth supervisor M&G and asset supervisor Authorized & Common Group instantly spring to thoughts. Each supply bumper yields whereas their shares wrestle to make headway. Now right here’s the factor. I maintain each in my self-invested private pension (SIPP).

I believe the asset administration sector is due a rerating, however it’s taking longer than I’d initially hoped. Given my publicity, I don’t want so as to add one other high-yielding struggler to my SIPP. There’s a possibility right here, however I’m already chasing it. With remorse, I’ll look elsewhere for my high-yield FTSE 250 restoration play. Lots to select from proper now!