Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT) Stock

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target for PJT to $175 (from $166) with an "outperform" rating, implying roughly a 15.7% upside from the prior close.
• PJT reported a record Q1—revenue of $418.2M (+28.9% YoY) and EPS of $1.54 beating estimates—and the board authorized a $800 million repurchase, which can materially boost EPS.
• Despite the strong quarter, analyst views remain mixed (consensus "Hold", average target ~$172) while institutional ownership is high (≈89%) and several large funds notably increased stakes.

PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $166.00 to $175.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price points to a potential upside of 15.73% from the stock's previous close.

PJT has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of PJT Partners in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research lowered PJT Partners from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of PJT Partners in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of PJT Partners from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut PJT Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PJT Partners currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $172.00.

PJT Partners Price Performance

PJT stock traded down $1.98 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $151.22. The stock had a trading volume of 88,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 350,443. The business has a 50-day moving average of $145.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88 and a beta of 0.88. PJT Partners has a 52-week low of $127.73 and a 52-week high of $195.62.

PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.03. PJT Partners had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 31.69%. The business had revenue of $418.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $396.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that PJT Partners will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of PJT Partners

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PJT. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of PJT Partners by 45.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,471 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,581,000 after buying an additional 3,596 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in PJT Partners by 57.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 2,681 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of PJT Partners by 4.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,915,000 after buying an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in PJT Partners by 1,394.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 52,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,247,000 after acquiring an additional 49,046 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in PJT Partners by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 370,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,090,000 after acquiring an additional 19,806 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PJT Partners News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PJT Partners this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reported record Q1 results — revenue rose ~29% year-over-year to $418.2M and EPS of $1.54 beat consensus; management highlighted strong margins and ROE, supporting the view that core advisory demand remains healthy. Business Wire: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Beat analyst expectations on both sales and EPS — the beat reinforces near-term earnings visibility after a strong quarter and supports upward momentum in the stock. Investing.com: Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized an $800 million repurchase program — a sizeable buyback that can meaningfully boost EPS and signal confidence from management on capital allocation. Business Wire: $800M Buyback
• Neutral Sentiment: Declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share (yield ~0.7%) — modest income component but not a primary driver of valuation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call materials and presentation published — provides detail on segment trends, deal pipelines and seasonality; useful for investors wanting to dig into drivers behind the quarter. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Management projects ~12% growth in 2026 non-compensation expenses — higher operating costs could pressure margins if revenue growth slows, partially offsetting buyback benefits. Seeking Alpha: Expense Guidance

About PJT Partners

PJT Partners is a global advisory-focused investment bank that delivers strategic advisory, restructuring and special situations, and capital solutions to corporations, partnerships, and governments. The firm operates through three primary business segments: Strategic Advisory, which covers mergers and acquisitions, shareholder advisory, and capital markets advisory; Restructuring and Special Situations, which provides advice on debt and liability management, distressed mergers and acquisitions, and financial restructurings; and Park Hill, the firm's dedicated capital-raising and secondary advisory business for private equity, real estate, hedge funds, and infrastructure.

The Strategic Advisory practice at PJT Partners assists clients with complex transactions such as cross-border mergers, spin-offs, divestitures, and takeover defenses, drawing on deep industry expertise and global reach.

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