Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $71.39 and last traded at $71.38, with a volume of 121347 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MC has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Moelis & Company from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Moelis & Company from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up from $54.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.00.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -378.42 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.07.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.07. Moelis & Company had a return on equity of 4.38% and a net margin of 1.38%. The business had revenue of $264.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,263.16%.

Insider Activity at Moelis & Company

In related news, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 495 shares of the business’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 transaction of $34,298.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,372 shares in the company, valued at $649,385.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Moelis & Company news, 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 transaction of $365,561.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,922.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 495 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 9,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $649,385.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,526 shares of company stock worth $830,133 in the last 90 days. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 7,190,221 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $408,836,000 after buying an additional 47,365 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,417,643 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $194,020,000 after buying an additional 159,797 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,118,245 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $63,483,000 after buying an additional 55,402 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 755,541 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $42,960,000 after buying an additional 29,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 179.2% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 708,140 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,265,000 after purchasing an additional 454,478 shares during the period. 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.