Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) have received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.83.

Several analysts recently commented on MC shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Moelis & Company from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock.

Institutional Trading of Moelis & Company

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Moelis & Company during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Moelis & Company by 63.5% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 497 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 115.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 995 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 193.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,081 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. 91.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:MC opened at $76.98 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.18 and a 200-day moving average of $64.42. Moelis & Company has a 52 week low of $46.24 and a 52 week high of $81.60. The company has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 145.25 and a beta of 1.33.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.02. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The firm had revenue of $273.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $273.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.15) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 0.96 EPS for the current year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. Moelis & Company’s payout ratio is 452.83%.

About Moelis & Company

Moelis & Company operates as an investment banking advisory firm. It offers advisory services in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and restructurings, capital markets transactions, and other corporate finance matters, as well as strategic, capital structure, and private funds advisory.