Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.80.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Moelis & Company from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $58.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $54.00 price objective (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Moelis & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MC opened at $52.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -273.84 and a beta of 1.39. Moelis & Company has a one year low of $33.87 and a one year high of $58.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.04.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The asset manager reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $217.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $219.30 million. Moelis & Company had a negative net margin of 1.33% and a negative return on equity of 0.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Moelis & Company will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.61%. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,263.16%.

Insider Activity

In other Moelis & Company news, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,040 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.59, for a total transaction of $55,733.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 128,277 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.60, for a total value of $6,747,370.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,511,206. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,040 shares of Moelis & Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.59, for a total transaction of $55,733.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 375,185 shares of company stock valued at $20,130,225. Corporate insiders own 6.96% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moelis & Company

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Moelis & Company by 21.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,928 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Moelis & Company by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 21,024 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 3,524 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Moelis & Company by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,394 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its stake in Moelis & Company by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 3,600 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Moelis & Company by 6.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 29,484 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,331,000 after buying an additional 1,741 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

About Moelis & Company

Moelis & Company operates as an investment banking advisory firm. It offers advisory services in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and restructurings, capital markets transactions, and other corporate finance matters, as well as strategic, capital structure, and private funds advisory.