Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Hits New 1-Year High After Earnings Beat

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $81.99 and last traded at $81.37, with a volume of 175200 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $79.68.

The asset manager reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.79. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 12.15%.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Moelis & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Moelis & Company’s payout ratio is 452.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MC. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Moelis & Company from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Moelis & Company from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $92.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moelis & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Moelis & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Moelis & Company by 148.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 822 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter worth $61,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Moelis & Company by 115.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 995 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.53% of the company’s stock.

Moelis & Company Trading Down 3.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 148.62 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.75.

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.