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

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)’s share price 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 changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $69.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on Moelis & Company from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Moelis & Company from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Moelis & Company from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.00.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $66.09 and a 200-day moving average of $59.89. The firm has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -377.37 and a beta of 1.33.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last announced its earnings results 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. The business 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%. Moelis & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Moelis & Company will post 1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,263.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moelis & Company 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 transaction, the director now owns 9,372 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 9,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $649,385.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Moelis sold 5,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86 shares in the company, valued at $5,922.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,526 shares of company stock valued at $830,133 in the last 90 days. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Peak Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Moelis & Company by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,715 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Moelis & Company in the 1st quarter valued at $5,062,000. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moelis & Company in the 1st quarter valued at $3,213,000. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc boosted its stake in Moelis & Company by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc now owns 6,181 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 147.9% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 657 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. 91.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.