StockNews.com Upgrades Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upgraded shares of Moody’s from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price target for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $397.75.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $374.60 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. Moody’s has a 1 year low of $296.45 and a 1 year high of $407.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $384.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $368.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.91, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.27.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Moody’s will post 10.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 38.95%.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 4,900.0% during the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

About Moody’s

Moody's Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investors Services. The Moody's Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.