Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Stock Lifted to Moderate Buy by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Moelis & Company from “hold” to “moderate buy.” Despite the upgrade, analysts’ overall consensus remains “Hold,” with a consensus price target of $73.43.
• Moelis exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.63 EPS versus the $0.62 estimate and $409.39 million in revenue versus the $387.27 million forecast. Revenue increased 12% year over year.
• Shares opened at $56.12, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of roughly $64.22 and $64.73, respectively; institutional investors own 91.53% of the company.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report released on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on MC. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Moelis & Company from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Moelis & Company from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group upgraded Moelis & Company from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $60.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised Moelis & Company from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Moelis & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $73.43.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of MC stock opened at $56.12 on Wednesday. Moelis & Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.06 and a fifty-two week high of $78.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.73. The company has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.91.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The asset manager reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $409.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $387.27 million. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 39.59% and a net margin of 14.50%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Moelis & Company will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 1,881 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.06, for a total transaction of $129,901.86. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,134.98. The trade was a 19.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 4,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.30, for a total transaction of $336,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,078.30. The trade was a 97.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 6.29% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moelis & Company

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Moelis & Company during the second quarter valued at about $109,065,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company in the second quarter worth about $31,529,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH bought a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $21,701,000. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position 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 during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $15,615,000. Institutional investors own 91.53% of the company's stock.

About Moelis & Company

Moelis & Company NYSE: MC is an independent global investment bank that provides strategic and financial advisory services to corporations, financial sponsors, governments and other institutions. The firm advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations, restructurings, liability management, capital raising and other complex financial transactions.

Moelis & Company serves clients across a range of industries, including technology, media and telecommunications; consumer and retail; energy and infrastructure; financial services; healthcare; industrials; and real estate.

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