Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) saw a large decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,450,000 shares, a decrease of 29.4% from the October 15th total of 3,470,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 668,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (up from $54.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. UBS Group raised 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Moelis & Company from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.83.

Moelis & Company Stock Performance

Moelis & Company stock traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $76.31. 714,122 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 638,710. Moelis & Company has a twelve month low of $44.02 and a twelve month high of $81.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.50. The firm has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 143.85 and a beta of 1.33.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.02. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The firm had revenue of $273.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $273.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.15) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Moelis & Company will post 0.97 EPS for the current year.

Moelis & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Moelis & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 452.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moelis & Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MC. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Moelis & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Moelis & Company by 63.5% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 497 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Moelis & Company by 115.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 995 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Moelis & Company by 193.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,081 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in Moelis & Company during the third quarter valued at about $75,000. 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.