Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $73.3750.

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up from $58.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised Moelis & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Moelis & Company from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th.

Moelis & Company Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:MC opened at $67.86 on Friday. Moelis & Company has a twelve month low of $51.06 and a twelve month high of $78.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $66.83 and its 200-day moving average is $65.62.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The asset manager reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $319.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $321.51 million. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 38.94%. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Moelis & Company’s payout ratio is presently 93.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moelis & Company

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter worth $60,857,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $42,919,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Moelis & Company by 1,161.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 661,594 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $41,231,000 after buying an additional 609,162 shares during the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 45.6% in the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 1,773,735 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $101,103,000 after buying an additional 555,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 16.1% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,304,180 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $235,654,000 after buying an additional 458,575 shares during the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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. The company was founded by Kenneth David Moelis, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, Jeffrey Raich and Elizabeth Ann Crain in July 2007 and is headquartered in New York, NY.