PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT) Stock Rating Cut to “Market Perform” at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT) was downgraded by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, October 7th, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $159.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $195.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.21% from the company’s current price.

PJT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on PJT Partners from $176.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Capital One Financial set a $160.00 price objective on PJT Partners in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PJT Partners in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen cut PJT Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on PJT Partners from $203.00 to $182.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.33.

PJT Partners Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE:PJT traded up $5.43 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $148.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 460,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,354. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29 and a beta of 0.89. PJT Partners has a 1 year low of $127.73 and a 1 year high of $195.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $155.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.18.

PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.40. PJT Partners had a return on equity of 32.66% and a net margin of 10.57%. The firm had revenue of $486.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PJT Partners will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at PJT Partners

In other news, Director Emily Rafferty sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.35, for a total transaction of $184,085.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,601,204.80. This represents a 10.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James Costos sold 1,723 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $301,525.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,289 shares in the company, valued at $1,975,575. The trade was a 13.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,951 shares of company stock worth $2,061,681. 10.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PJT Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its stake in shares of PJT Partners by 526.7% during the 3rd quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 9,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,341,000 after acquiring an additional 7,900 shares in the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PJT Partners during the 3rd quarter worth $668,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of PJT Partners by 94.5% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of PJT Partners by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 9,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PJT Partners by 144.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About PJT Partners

PJT Partners Inc (NYSE:PJT) is a global, advisory-focused investment banking and financial services firm. The company provides strategic advice to corporations, financial sponsors, institutional investors and other clients on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, capital raising, liability management and other complex financial matters.

Its businesses also include restructuring and special situations advisory, private capital advisory and placement services, and shareholder engagement and governance advice.