William Blair Comments on Moody's Co.'s Q1 2024 Earnings (NYSE:MCO)

Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) - Research analysts at William Blair raised their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for Moody's in a note issued to investors on Monday, April 15th. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $2.98 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.77. The consensus estimate for Moody's' current full-year earnings is $10.67 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Moody's' Q2 2024 earnings at $2.70 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $10.60 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $12.35 EPS.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Moody's from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upgraded Moody's from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Moody's from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $397.75.

Moody's Stock Up 1.3 %

MCO stock traded up $4.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $375.41. The company had a trading volume of 572,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 719,728. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $385.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $368.69. The company has a market capitalization of $68.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.00, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.27. Moody's has a 52 week low of $296.45 and a 52 week high of $407.62.

Institutional Trading of Moody's

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Moody's by 4,900.0% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Moody's in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody's in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody's in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.95%.

Moody's Company Profile

Moody's Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investors Services. The Moody's Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.