Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $59.83.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Moelis & Company from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Moelis & Company from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Moelis & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moelis & Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 52.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 398 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 1,551.3% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 644 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Moelis & Company by 1,460.8% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 796 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Moelis & Company by 148.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 822 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the period. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moelis & Company Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of MC opened at $58.01 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $55.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.74. The stock has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.96 and a beta of 1.64. Moelis & Company has a 12-month low of $47.00 and a 12-month high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.07. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 38.49%. The firm had revenue of $306.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. Moelis & Company’s revenue was up 41.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.48%. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.27%.

About Moelis & Company

Moelis & Co operates as a holding company. It engages in the provision of financial advisory, capital raising and asset management services to a client base including corporations, governments, sovereign wealth funds and financial sponsors. The firm focuses on clients including large public multinational corporations, middle market private companies, financial sponsors, entrepreneurs and governments.