Erste Group Bank Comments on Morgan Stanley FY2027 Earnings

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley’s FY2027 EPS estimate to $13.70 from $13.65 and maintained a “Buy” rating, above the broader consensus estimate of $12.79.
• Morgan Stanley’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $3.46 versus $2.89 expected and revenue of $21.35 billion, up 27.1% year over year.
• The company authorized a $20 billion share repurchase program and increased its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share, equating to an annualized yield of about 2.1%.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) - Research analysts at Erste Group Bank upped their FY2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a report issued on Wednesday, August 5th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings of $13.70 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $13.65. Erste Group Bank currently has a "Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley's current full-year earnings is $12.79 per share.

MS has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Argus upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.8%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $214.56 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $141.03 and a 1-year high of $232.25. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $216.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.08. The company has a market capitalization of $338.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 69.0% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,263,000 after buying an additional 3,661 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 90.9% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,378,000 after acquiring an additional 7,688 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.3% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,127,000 after acquiring an additional 15,623 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,807 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer highlighted Morgan Stanley as one of the major beneficiaries of potentially accelerating merger-and-acquisition activity. The thesis is that easing antitrust concerns and pent-up corporate deal demand could increase advisory fees and support investment-banking revenue. Jim Cramer Recommends Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to Profit From Accelerating M&A Deals
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley has launched a $1.5 trillion innovation infrastructure initiative, a move that could strengthen its positioning in financing and advising companies involved in technology, infrastructure and other long-term investment themes. Morgan Stanley starts $1.5T innovation infrastructure initiative
• Neutral Sentiment: The firm continues expanding its fixed-income funding activity through new fixed-coupon notes and medium-term debt offerings. This may support liquidity and business growth, although investors are also asking whether Morgan Stanley’s valuation already reflects much of its earnings improvement. Morgan Stanley Expands Fixed Income Activity
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Holdings sponsored a $418.1 million residential mortgage-backed securities transaction. The deal demonstrates continued securitization activity, but KBRA noted a meaningful concentration of non-prime mortgages, highlighting the credit and underwriting risks associated with the business. KBRA Assigns Preliminary Ratings to Morgan Stanley Residential Mortgage Loan Trust 2026-NEW2
• Negative Sentiment: A Morgan Stanley-backed sale process for renewable developer PNE faces uncertainty because potential buyers reportedly offered less than the company’s market valuation. While this is not a core Morgan Stanley operating issue, an unsuccessful transaction could reduce expected advisory or financing fees. Morgan Stanley-backed PNE says sale prospects unclear

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company's chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm's primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

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