Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.79 EPS

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.79, Zacks reports. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 12.15%.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MC traded down $1.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $79.80. 339,908 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 733,126. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 150.61 and a beta of 1.40. Moelis & Company has a 12-month low of $46.24 and a 12-month high of $82.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $75.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.75.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Moelis & Company’s payout ratio is currently 452.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on MC shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 price target (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.83.

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.