William Blair Analysts Decrease Earnings Estimates for Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) – Stock analysts at William Blair cut their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Moody’s in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, April 15th. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now expects that the business services provider will post earnings of $2.46 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.53. The consensus estimate for Moody’s’ current full-year earnings is $10.67 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Moody’s’ Q4 2024 earnings at $2.46 EPS.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.14). Moody’s had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 55.23%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MCO. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays upgraded Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.75.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of MCO opened at $375.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $385.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $368.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. Moody’s has a 52-week low of $296.45 and a 52-week high of $407.62. The company has a market cap of $68.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.00, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Markel Corp grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 212,990 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,750 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 6.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $717,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,078,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its stake in Moody’s by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 30,994 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,457,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 38.95%.

Moody’s Company Profile

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.