FY2027 EPS Estimate for Morgan Stanley Boosted by Analyst

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank raised its FY2027 EPS estimate for Morgan Stanley to $12.88 from $12.80 and maintained a Buy rating. The new estimate is also above the current consensus of $11.98 per share.
• Morgan Stanley recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.46 versus $2.89 expected and revenue of $21.35 billion versus $19.67 billion expected. Revenue also climbed 27.1% year over year.
• The company boosted shareholder returns by authorizing a $20 billion share buyback and increasing its quarterly dividend to $1.15 from $1.00. The raised dividend implies 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 estimates for Morgan Stanley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, July 15th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $12.88 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $12.80. Erste Group Bank currently has a "Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley's current full-year earnings is $11.98 per share.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on MS. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $219.55.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $218.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $136.17 and a 52 week high of $232.25. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $211.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $188.52. The stock has a market cap of $344.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 15.65%.The firm's revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 EPS.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $1.15 dividend. This is a boost 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 36.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Ballast Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $257,000. Tema ETFs LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.6% during the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 24,259 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,071,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.8% during the second quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 8,836 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,847,000 after buying an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. William Mack & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $246,000. Finally, Diversified Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13.4% in the second quarter. Diversified Management Inc. now owns 1,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley delivered record Q2 revenue and profit, with earnings and sales beating expectations by a wide margin, which is driving bullish investor reaction.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm’s wealth management and institutional businesses showed strong momentum, including record client assets and robust trading/dealmaking activity, signaling healthy core growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its quarterly dividend 15% to $1.15 per share, a shareholder-friendly move that can support sentiment around capital strength and cash generation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated or raised price targets after the earnings release, suggesting the results may help reset expectations, though the stock had already been trading near recent highs.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also completed its E*TRADE spot crypto rollout, expanding its retail platform offering, but this looks more like a strategic long-term growth initiative than the main driver today.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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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