Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Erste Group Bank

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was downgraded by Erste Group Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on MS. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.43.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $189.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $299.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $208.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.66. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $151.84 and a 1-year high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.68 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 143.4% during the second quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the second quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayban grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 72.5% in the first quarter. Bayban now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer endorsed Morgan Stanley as a buy after its pullback, citing the company’s share-repurchase authorization and confidence in CEO Ted Pick’s strategy. Jim Cramer Backs Morgan Stanley After Its Pullback
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is proposing to convert eight Eaton Vance municipal-bond mutual funds, with nearly $10 billion in assets, into ETFs. The move could improve product flexibility and strengthen the firm’s position in the growing ETF market, although shareholder approval is required. Morgan Stanley Plans Municipal Fund ETF Conversions
• Positive Sentiment: The firm was selected as a joint lead manager for the United Kingdom’s planned digitally native government bond, providing potential underwriting, distribution and investor-engagement revenue while expanding its digital-assets credentials. UK Names Banks for Digital Government Bond
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly constructive, with Morgan Stanley receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target near $219.90, implying meaningful upside from the current trading level. However, the consensus includes a sizable number of hold ratings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary highlights Morgan Stanley’s integrated investment-banking, wealth-management and asset-management model as a potential long-term earnings driver as deal activity recovers and client assets expand. Can Morgan Stanley’s Integrated Model Drive Long-Term Earnings Growth?
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets lowered its Morgan Stanley price target from $250 to $215 while maintaining an “Outperform” rating. The reduced target signals more limited near-term upside and likely contributed to the stock’s weakness. BMO Cuts Morgan Stanley Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: A Zacks preview said Morgan Stanley does not currently have the combination of earnings and estimate-revision signals typically associated with a likely quarterly earnings beat, increasing investor caution before results. Morgan Stanley Earnings Expected to Grow

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm serving corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and other investors. The company provides investment banking and advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, equity and debt underwriting, securities sales and trading, and corporate lending.

Through its Wealth Management business, Morgan Stanley offers financial planning, brokerage, investment advisory and banking services to individual investors, businesses and institutions.