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

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $71.8889.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Moelis & Company from $90.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $80.00 to $64.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Moelis & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd.

Moelis & Company Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of MC opened at $63.96 on Friday. Moelis & Company has a 1 year low of $51.06 and a 1 year high of $78.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.62. The stock has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.87.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The asset manager reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.09). Moelis & Company had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 38.94%. The company had revenue of $319.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $321.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Moelis & Company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Moelis & Company’s payout ratio is currently 93.53%.

Insider Transactions at Moelis & Company

In other Moelis & Company news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 2,765 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.23, for a total transaction of $172,065.95. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 4,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $309,967.63. This represents a 35.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moelis & Company

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MC. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 9.0% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,742,624 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $213,330,000 after purchasing an additional 310,001 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,194,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $219,588,000 after acquiring an additional 66,697 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 3.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,862,337 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $178,381,000 after acquiring an additional 89,143 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 6.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,396,230 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $149,333,000 after acquiring an additional 135,885 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,876,472 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $128,989,000 after acquiring an additional 89,365 shares during the period. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.