Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Moelis & Company has been upgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating increased investor confidence in the stock.
• The company's analysts forecast a significant increase in earnings per share (EPS), estimating $2.55 EPS for FY2026 and $3.72 EPS for FY2027.
• Moelis & Company's recent quarterly earnings report showed exceptional performance, with a reported $0.53 EPS, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.21.

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Moelis & Company's Q4 2025 earnings at $0.63 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.27 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.66 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.69 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.63 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.69 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.64 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.77 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.55 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.88 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.93 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.98 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.93 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $3.72 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $4.06 EPS.

MC has been the subject of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Moelis & Company from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Moelis & Company from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.00.

Moelis & Company Stock Up 4.6%

Shares of NYSE MC traded up $3.2220 during trading on Monday, reaching $72.6020. The company had a trading volume of 829,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 751,375. The company's fifty day moving average price is $67.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.70. Moelis & Company has a 12 month low of $47.00 and a 12 month high of $82.89. The stock has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.58 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 102.36%.

Insider Transactions at Moelis & Company

In other Moelis & Company news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.64, for a total value of $460,537.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,515.84. This represents a 97.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Moelis & Company by 89.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 597 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 1,551.3% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 644 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 1,460.8% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 796 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new position in shares of Moelis & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moelis & Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 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.