Q3 2024 EPS Estimates for Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Lowered by William Blair

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) – Equities research analysts at William Blair decreased their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Moody’s in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, April 15th. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now forecasts that the business services provider will earn $2.46 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.53. The consensus estimate for Moody’s’ current full-year earnings is $10.67 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Moody’s’ Q4 2024 earnings at $2.46 EPS.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.75.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.9 %

Moody’s stock opened at $370.32 on Tuesday. Moody’s has a one year low of $296.45 and a one year high of $407.62. The company has a market cap of $67.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $385.68 and a 200-day moving average of $368.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $720,502,000. TCI Fund Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. now owns 12,049,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,706,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,678,594 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 277.8% during the third quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,544,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $488,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135,463 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,994,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,112,947,000 after purchasing an additional 914,530 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth $153,532,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.95%.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody's Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investors Services. The Moody's Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.