Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Price Target Raised to $81.00

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $80.00 to $81.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Moelis & Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $80.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America started coverage on Moelis & Company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Moelis & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.33.

Moelis & Company Stock Up 2.1%

NYSE:MC opened at $73.15 on Thursday. Moelis & Company has a 52 week low of $47.00 and a 52 week high of $81.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $71.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.87.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The asset manager reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.37. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 43.19% and a net margin of 15.36%.The business had revenue of $487.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $430.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the second quarter valued at about $207,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Moelis & Company by 5.3% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 354,658 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $23,691,000 after buying an additional 17,740 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Moelis & Company by 354.1% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 42,789 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,052,000 after buying an additional 33,367 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in Moelis & Company by 21.2% in the second quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 33,294 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,075,000 after buying an additional 5,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 26,619 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after acquiring an additional 4,828 shares during the period. 91.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Moelis & Company

Here are the key news stories impacting Moelis & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — Revenue rose ~11% to ~$488M and EPS topped consensus, reflecting continued M&A and capital-markets momentum; management said it will expand capital returns, supporting near-term upside for the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: $300M buyback announced and quarterly dividend declared ($0.65/share, ~3.6% yield) — buybacks and a meaningful dividend increase capital return to shareholders and improve EPS leverage. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target increases — Morgan Stanley raised its target to $90 (Overweight) and JPMorgan nudged its target to $81 (Neutral), bringing fresh analyst support and raising the consensus upside. Read More. · Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive analyst commentary and stock-screen features — coverage pieces (Zacks et al.) highlight Moelis’ growth profile and attractive style scores, which can attract momentum and growth-focused investors but are informational rather than catalytic. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call / deep dives available — Transcripts and slide decks provide detail on deal pipeline, strategic hires and capital-markets expansion; useful for modeling but no new surprises disclosed in headlines. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Operational and cash-flow pressure beneath the headline beat — some metrics showed strains: operating profit and diluted EPS were modestly lower year-over-year in certain reports, and cash from operations and cash balances declined materially, which could limit flexibility if deal activity softens. Read More.

About Moelis & Company

Moelis & Co operates as a holding company. It engages in the provision of financial advisory, capital raising and asset management services to a client base including corporations, governments, sovereign wealth funds and financial sponsors. The firm focuses on clients including large public multinational corporations, middle market private companies, financial sponsors, entrepreneurs and governments. The company was founded by Kenneth David Moelis, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, Jeffrey Raich and Elizabeth Ann Crain in July 2007 and is headquartered in New York, NY.