Zacks Research Upgrades Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to “Strong-Buy”

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on MS. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $157.99 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $166.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The stock has a market cap of $252.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $154.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sather Financial Group Inc grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.2% during the third quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 7,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,219,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.1% during the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 83,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,247,000 after buying an additional 2,537 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 252,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,139,000 after purchasing an additional 15,175 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1,003.1% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 29,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,705,000 after purchasing an additional 26,914 shares during the period. Finally, Grandview Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 177.1% in the third quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC now owns 4,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,670 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.