Moelis & Company (MC) Competitors

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM) and Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, media sentiment and dividends.

Does the media favor APAM or MC?

In the previous week, Moelis & Company had 15 more articles in the media than Artisan Partners Asset Management. MarketBeat recorded 25 mentions for Moelis & Company and 10 mentions for Artisan Partners Asset Management. Artisan Partners Asset Management's average media sentiment score of 1.24 beat Moelis & Company's score of 0.54 indicating that Artisan Partners Asset Management is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Artisan Partners Asset Management	7 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Moelis & Company	9 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of APAM or MC?

86.5% of Artisan Partners Asset Management shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.5% of Moelis & Company shares are held by institutional investors. 12.5% of Artisan Partners Asset Management shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.4% of Moelis & Company shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts rate APAM or MC?

Artisan Partners Asset Management currently has a consensus target price of $39.10, indicating a potential downside of 15.68%. Moelis & Company has a consensus target price of $66.00, indicating a potential downside of 6.18%. Given Moelis & Company's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Moelis & Company is more favorable than Artisan Partners Asset Management.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Artisan Partners Asset Management	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Moelis & Company	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.14

Which has more risk & volatility, APAM or MC?

Artisan Partners Asset Management has a beta of 1.7, indicating that its stock price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Moelis & Company has a beta of 1.64, indicating that its stock price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, APAM or MC?

Artisan Partners Asset Management has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Moelis & Company. Artisan Partners Asset Management is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Moelis & Company, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Artisan Partners Asset Management	$1.11B	3.36	$259.75M	$3.62	12.81
Moelis & Company	$1.19B	4.62	$136.02M	$2.18	32.27

Is APAM or MC more profitable?

Artisan Partners Asset Management has a net margin of 23.24% compared to Moelis & Company's net margin of 13.22%. Artisan Partners Asset Management's return on equity of 73.48% beat Moelis & Company's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Artisan Partners Asset Management	23.24%	73.48%	19.18%
Moelis & Company	13.22%	40.89%	15.58%

Is APAM or MC a better dividend stock?

Artisan Partners Asset Management pays an annual dividend of $2.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. Moelis & Company pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Artisan Partners Asset Management pays out 75.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Moelis & Company pays out 119.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Moelis & Company has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Artisan Partners Asset Management is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Artisan Partners Asset Management beats Moelis & Company on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.