Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Earns Hold (C) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Moelis & Company's stock has been assigned a "hold (c)" rating by Weiss Ratings, while it also received a "strong-buy" upgrade from Zacks Research on August 18th.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.53, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.32, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 38.1% to $365.38 million.
• Moelis & Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" among analysts, with an average price target of $72.00, while institutional investors own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating reissued by analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on MC. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Moelis & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.00.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:MC opened at $65.64 on Wednesday. Moelis & Company has a one year low of $47.00 and a one year high of $82.89. The firm has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84 and a beta of 1.77. The firm's fifty day moving average is $71.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.61.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $365.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.57 million. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 42.72%. The firm's revenue was up 38.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Moelis & Company

In other news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,615 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $189,639.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at $515,544.68. This represents a 26.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.64, for a total transaction of $460,537.60. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 131 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,515.84. This trade represents a 97.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Moelis & Company

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 6,581 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Palisades Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 76,730 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,478,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 69,155 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,310,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,075 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,814 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.53% of the company's stock.

Moelis & Company Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.