Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Stock Rating Upgraded by 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 research note issued to investors on Monday, August 18th,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.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised Moelis & Company from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $42.00 to $68.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Moelis & Company from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Moelis & Company from $69.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Moelis & Company from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moelis & Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.00.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

NYSE MC traded down $0.4150 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $72.1350. The stock had a trading volume of 155,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 925,200. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.66 and a 200 day moving average of $62.57. The stock has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41 and a beta of 1.70. Moelis & Company has a 52-week low of $47.00 and a 52-week high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $365.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.57 million. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 42.72% and a net margin of 14.31%.Moelis & Company's revenue for the quarter was up 38.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Moelis & Company

In other news, General Counsel Osamu R. Watanabe sold 6,340 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.64, for a total transaction of $460,537.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,515.84. This represents a 97.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MC. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Moelis & Company by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 143,951 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,813 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Moelis & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $1,441,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in Moelis & Company by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 81,534 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $6,024,000 after purchasing an additional 2,248 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Moelis & Company by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 42,623 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,149,000 after purchasing an additional 2,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Moelis & Company by 117.6% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,015 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170 shares during the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.