Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) to Post Q1 2024 Earnings of $2.98 Per Share, William Blair Forecasts

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) – Stock analysts at William Blair increased their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Moody’s in a research note issued to investors on Monday, April 15th. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $2.98 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.77. The consensus estimate for Moody’s’ current full-year earnings is $10.68 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Moody’s’ Q2 2024 earnings at $2.70 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $10.60 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $12.35 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.75.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $374.60 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $384.62 and its 200-day moving average is $368.73. Moody’s has a 12-month low of $296.45 and a 12-month high of $407.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.27.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.14). Moody’s had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 55.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Applied Capital LLC FL boosted its position in Moody’s by 1.6% during the first quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 5,984 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,352,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 12,741 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,008,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 29,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,677,000 after buying an additional 971 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 305 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,336,000 after acquiring an additional 588 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 38.95%.

About Moody’s

Moody's Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investors Services. The Moody's Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.