Short Interest in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Expands By 33.0%

Key Points

• Short interest in Moody's jumped by 33.0% to 3,182,593 shares as of March 31, equal to 1.8% of the stock and a days-to-cover ratio of 2.6.
• Moody's topped Q4 expectations with $3.64 EPS (vs. $3.39) and $1.89B revenue (up 13% y/y), and set FY2026 guidance of $16.40–$17.00 EPS.
• Several analysts trimmed price targets (e.g., Morgan Stanley to $489, Mizuho to $524), but the consensus remains a Moderate Buy with a $541.69 price target.

Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,182,593 shares, a growth of 33.0% from the March 15th total of 2,392,301 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,240,594 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MCO. Mizuho lowered their price target on Moody's from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Moody's from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $541.69.

Moody's Stock Performance

Moody's stock traded up $7.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $455.67. The company had a trading volume of 1,538,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,280,965. Moody's has a 52 week low of $402.28 and a 52 week high of $546.88. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $442.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $477.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody's had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.62 EPS. Moody's's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Moody's will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody's's payout ratio is 30.12%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 8,222 shares of company stock worth $3,786,732 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody's

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody's in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody's in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody's in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Moody's in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in Moody's in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Moody's

Moody's Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody's is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody's operates primarily through two complementary businesses.

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