Analysts Set Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Price Target at $56.00

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $58.33.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Moelis & Company from $51.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Moelis & Company from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (up from $54.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Shares of MC stock opened at $67.35 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $64.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.71. Moelis & Company has a 1 year low of $38.58 and a 1 year high of $70.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -354.47 and a beta of 1.33.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $264.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.90 million. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 4.38% and a net margin of 1.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 47.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.04) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Moelis & Company will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th. Moelis & Company’s payout ratio is -1,263.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moelis & Company

In other news, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 5,308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.87, for a total transaction of $365,561.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,922.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 495 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.29, for a total value of $34,298.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $649,385.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 5,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.87, for a total value of $365,561.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 86 shares in the company, valued at $5,922.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,526 shares of company stock valued at $830,133. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Moelis & Company by 63.5% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 497 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 147.9% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 657 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 510.2% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 836 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,505 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Moelis & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $113,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

Moelis & Company Company Profile

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.