Short Interest in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Expands By 17.4%

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,307,776 shares, a growth of 17.4% from the February 12th total of 1,965,580 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,684,721 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,684,721 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE:MCO traded up $8.62 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $441.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,109,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,632,766. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $78.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $478.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $486.69. Moody’s has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Moody’s will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $500.00 to $590.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.25.

Moody’s Company Profile

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.