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Moody's (MCO) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Moody's logo
$459.55 -9.15 (-1.95%)
Closing price 03:58 PM Eastern
Extended Trading
$460.30 +0.75 (+0.16%)
As of 07:34 PM Eastern
Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Massive. Learn more.

Moody's - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2026)

Consensus Rating

Sell
0
Hold
5
Buy
15

Based on 20 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Moody's in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy." Out of the 20 analysts, 5 have given a hold rating, 14 have given a buy rating, and 1 has given a strong buy rating for MCO.

Consensus Price Target

$553.61
20.47% Upside
According to the 20 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Moody's, the average price target is $553.61. The highest price target for MCO is $610.00, while the lowest price target for MCO is $500.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 20.47% from the current price of $459.55.
MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.
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MCO Analyst Ratings Over Time

TypeCurrent Forecast
9/28/25 to 9/28/26
1 Month Ago
8/29/25 to 8/29/26
3 Months Ago
6/30/25 to 6/30/26
1 Year Ago
9/28/24 to 9/28/25
Strong Buy
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy
14 Buy rating(s)
14 Buy rating(s)
12 Buy rating(s)
11 Buy rating(s)
Hold
5 Hold rating(s)
5 Hold rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
5 Hold rating(s)
Sell
0 Sell rating(s)
0 Sell rating(s)
0 Sell rating(s)
0 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target$553.61$553.61$541.83$540.71
Forecasted Upside20.47% Upside7.35% Upside19.58% Upside13.41% Upside
Consensus RatingModerate BuyModerate BuyModerate BuyModerate Buy

MCO Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.
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MCO Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.
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Moody's Stock vs. The Competition

TypeMoody'sFinance CompaniesBroader Market
Consensus Rating Score
2.80
2.27
2.53
Consensus RatingModerate BuyHoldModerate Buy
Predicted Upside20.47% Upside36.53% Upside19.96% Upside
News Sentiment Rating
Positive News

See Recent MCO News
Positive News
Positive News
DateBrokerageAnalystActionRatingPrice TargetReport Date
Upside/Downside
Details
7/29/2026
Citigroup Inc. logo
Citigroup
4 of 5 stars
 Reiterated RatingBuy
7/27/2026
Mizuho logo
Mizuho
3 of 5 stars
Sean Kennedy
Sean Kennedy
Not Rated
Boost TargetNeutral$521.00 ➝ $530.00+9.03%
7/23/2026
UBS Group AG logo
UBS Group
4 of 5 stars
 Reiterated RatingNeutral$505.00+6.43%
7/23/2026Boost TargetOutperform$557.00 ➝ $572.00+20.55%
7/23/2026Boost TargetOverweight$590.00 ➝ $597.00+21.99%
7/22/2026Set Target$512.00+4.62%
7/20/2026Boost TargetOverweight$530.00 ➝ $600.00+18.46%
7/17/2026Initiated CoverageBuy$610.00+17.84%
7/15/2026 UpgradeHold (C+) ➝ Buy (B-)
7/10/2026Boost TargetOverweight$550.00 ➝ $575.00+18.15%
7/7/2026Boost TargetMarket Perform$489.00 ➝ $515.00+3.24%
6/18/2026Set Target$500.00+9.54%
4/23/2026 Reiterated RatingOutperform$535.00+17.84%
4/22/2026 Reiterated RatingBuy$565.00+20.78%
2/19/2026Reiterated RatingOutperform$610.00+35.53%
2/19/2026Lower TargetBuy$574.00 ➝ $540.00+20.29%
2/18/2026Set Target$531.00+17.98%
1/13/2026UpgradeNeutral ➝ Outperform$500.00 ➝ $590.00+10.20%
10/17/2025UpgradeUnderperform ➝ Market Perform
10/9/2025Reiterated RatingOutperform$550.00+11.66%
10/1/2025Set TargetHold ➝ Buy$528.00+10.78%
7/24/2025Boost TargetOutperform$552.00 ➝ $563.00+9.15%
2/14/2025 Reiterated RatingOutperform

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Monday at 08:15 PM ET.


Should I Buy Moody's Stock? MCO Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Friday, September 25, 2026. Please send any questions or comments about these Moody's pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Moody's
Bull Case

green Wall Street bull icon

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Moody's Co.:

  • Moody's Co. recently announced it will acquire a minority stake in Philippine Rating Services Corporation, a leading domestic credit rating agency in the Philippines, which strengthens its Asia-Pacific affiliate network and supports the development of local debt capital markets.
  • The company reported strong second-quarter results with earnings per share of $4.68, beating the consensus estimate of $4.26, and revenue of $2.19 billion, which exceeded the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion, demonstrating robust financial performance and a 15.1% year-over-year revenue increase.
  • Moody's Co. has been named number one in the Chartis RiskTech100 for the fifth consecutive year, highlighting its leadership in risk technology and its ability to provide advanced data and analytical tools to institutional participants in financial markets.
  • Wall Street analysts maintain a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $553.61, which is significantly higher than the current stock price of $469.16, suggesting substantial potential for capital appreciation.
  • The company offers a stable income stream with a dividend yield of 0.88% and a payout ratio of 26.13%, indicating that the dividend is well-covered by earnings and provides a reliable return for income-focused investors.

Moody's
Bear Case

red Wall Street bear icon

Investors should be bearish about investing in Moody's Co. for these reasons:

  • Moody's Co. is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.75, which is relatively high compared to many other financial services providers, potentially indicating that the stock is overvalued relative to its current earnings power.
  • The stock has a beta of 1.34, meaning it is more volatile than the overall market and may experience larger price swings during periods of market turbulence, which could be concerning for risk-averse investors.
  • CEO Robert Fauber has been consistently selling shares under a pre-arranged trading plan, with recent sales of 1,467 shares at an average price of $484.30, which may signal a lack of confidence in the stock's near-term upside from company leadership.
  • Moody's Co. has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, indicating a significant level of leverage that could increase financial risk and reduce the company's flexibility in managing its capital structure during economic downturns.
  • The company's 50-day simple moving average is $487.30, which is above the current stock price of $469.16, suggesting that the stock is trading below its short-term trend and may be underperforming in the near term.

MCO Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 20 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Moody's is $553.61, with a high forecast of $610.00 and a low forecast of $500.00.

20 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Moody's in the last year. There are currently 5 hold ratings, 14 buy ratings and 1 strong buy rating for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" MCO shares.

According to analysts, Moody's's stock has a predicted upside of 20.47% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Over the previous 90 days, Moody's's stock had 1 upgrade by analysts.

Analysts like Moody's more than other "finance" companies. The consensus rating for Moody's is Moderate Buy while the average consensus rating for "finance" companies is Hold. Learn more on how MCO compares to other companies.


MarketBeat monitors more than a dozen sources for Moody's analyst ratings, with the most recent rating issued on 7/29/2026.
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