PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT) Upgraded to Outperform at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded PJT Partners to an Outperform from Market Perform and set a $166 price target (from $180), implying about a 17.3% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed — Goldman Sachs also upgraded to a Buy with a $170 target while UBS, Wolfe and others remain Neutral/Underperform; the consensus is an average "Hold" with an average price target of $170.33.
• PJT reported a quarterly beat (EPS $2.55 vs. $2.41 est.) with revenue $535.2M (+12.1% YoY) and a 31.7% ROE, and roughly 89% institutional ownership with recent large inflows from firms like Wasatch, Invesco and Two Sigma.

PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $166.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock, down from their previous price target of $180.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 17.28% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on PJT. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of PJT Partners from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of PJT Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of PJT Partners in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of PJT Partners from $180.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of PJT Partners in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $170.33.

PJT Partners Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE PJT opened at $141.55 on Wednesday. PJT Partners has a 52 week low of $122.99 and a 52 week high of $195.62. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $147.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.64.

PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.14. PJT Partners had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 31.69%. The firm had revenue of $535.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $533.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. PJT Partners's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PJT Partners will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PJT. Wasatch Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of PJT Partners in the third quarter valued at approximately $68,604,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of PJT Partners by 106.7% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 520,056 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $85,814,000 after acquiring an additional 268,435 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP bought a new position in shares of PJT Partners in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,061,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in PJT Partners by 1,446.5% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 115,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,229,000 after purchasing an additional 107,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in PJT Partners by 390.1% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 84,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,096,000 after purchasing an additional 67,606 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About PJT Partners

PJT Partners is a global advisory-focused investment bank that delivers strategic advisory, restructuring and special situations, and capital solutions to corporations, partnerships, and governments. The firm operates through three primary business segments: Strategic Advisory, which covers mergers and acquisitions, shareholder advisory, and capital markets advisory; Restructuring and Special Situations, which provides advice on debt and liability management, distressed mergers and acquisitions, and financial restructurings; and Park Hill, the firm's dedicated capital-raising and secondary advisory business for private equity, real estate, hedge funds, and infrastructure.

The Strategic Advisory practice at PJT Partners assists clients with complex transactions such as cross-border mergers, spin-offs, divestitures, and takeover defenses, drawing on deep industry expertise and global reach.

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