Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Downgraded to "Strong Sell" Rating by UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group downgraded Moelis & Company from “hold” to “strong sell,” adding to a generally cautious Wall Street outlook on the stock.
• Other firms have also trimmed their views and price targets recently, and the consensus rating now stands at “Hold” with an average price target of $72.11.
• Moelis reported Q1 earnings of $0.50 per share, missing estimates of $0.59, while revenue of $319.78 million came in slightly below expectations.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at UBS Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Moelis & Company from $80.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Moelis & Company from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Moelis & Company from $90.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Moelis & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.11.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of MC opened at $64.50 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average is $66.52 and its 200 day moving average is $65.85. Moelis & Company has a fifty-two week low of $51.06 and a fifty-two week high of $78.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.85.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The asset manager reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $319.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $321.51 million. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 38.94% and a net margin of 14.46%.Moelis & Company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Moelis & Company by 9.9% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,799 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 42,080 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,839 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $264,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 37.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,828 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,499,000 after purchasing an additional 11,692 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,639 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the period. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Moelis & Company

Moelis & Co operates as a holding company. It engages in the provision of financial advisory, capital raising and asset management services to a client base including corporations, governments, sovereign wealth funds and financial sponsors. The firm focuses on clients including large public multinational corporations, middle market private companies, financial sponsors, entrepreneurs and governments. The company was founded by Kenneth David Moelis, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, Jeffrey Raich and Elizabeth Ann Crain in July 2007 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

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