Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• Moelis shares opened sharply lower at $52.39, compared with the prior close of $58.38, before recovering to $57.84 during trading.
• Quarterly earnings per share of $0.75 beat estimates of $0.72, while revenue of $425.58 million fell short of forecasts; revenue nevertheless rose 19.2% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $68.83. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, equivalent to a 4.5% yield.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Friday. The stock had previously closed at $58.38, but opened at $52.39. Moelis & Company shares last traded at $57.84, with a volume of 187,876 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MC shares. UBS Group raised shares of Moelis & Company from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Moelis & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Moelis & Company from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Moelis & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.83.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.87. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $59.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.77.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $425.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $434.17 million. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 39.59% and a net margin of 14.50%. Moelis & Company's quarterly revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.59%.

Insider Transactions at Moelis & Company

In other Moelis & Company news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 1,881 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.06, for a total transaction of $129,901.86. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $527,134.98. The trade was a 19.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company during the second quarter valued at $109,065,000. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Moelis & Company during the second quarter valued at about $31,529,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Moelis & Company in the first quarter worth $15,615,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Moelis & Company by 43.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 649,724 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $37,035,000 after buying an additional 195,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its stake in Moelis & Company by 22.3% during the third quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 503,899 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,984,000 after purchasing an additional 91,746 shares in the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Moelis & Company

Moelis & Company NYSE: MC is an independent global investment bank that provides strategic and financial advisory services to corporations, financial sponsors, governments and other institutions. Its advisory platform focuses on mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations, restructurings, capital raising and other complex corporate finance matters.

The firm advises clients across a range of industries, including technology, media and telecommunications; financial services; consumer and retail; energy and infrastructure; healthcare; and industrials.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.