Wall Street Zen Downgrades PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT) to Hold

PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on PJT. Zacks Research raised PJT Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on PJT Partners from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on PJT Partners from $183.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PJT Partners in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 target price on shares of PJT Partners in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.50.

PJT Partners Stock Up 0.1%

PJT stock opened at $183.02 on Friday. PJT Partners has a fifty-two week low of $127.73 and a fifty-two week high of $195.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.82. The stock has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 0.83.

PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.40. PJT Partners had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 32.66%. The firm had revenue of $486.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.28 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. PJT Partners’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that PJT Partners will post 8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at PJT Partners

In related news, Director Grace Reksten Skaugen sold 1,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.67, for a total transaction of $215,120.61. Following the transaction, the director owned 500 shares in the company, valued at $83,835. This trade represents a 71.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Emily K. Rafferty sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.35, for a total transaction of $184,085.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,568 shares in the company, valued at $1,601,204.80. This represents a 10.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,951 shares of company stock valued at $2,061,681. 10.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PJT Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its position in shares of PJT Partners by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 10,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of PJT Partners in the 2nd quarter worth $226,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of PJT Partners by 13,745.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,860,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $582,672,000 after buying an additional 3,832,410 shares during the period. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PJT Partners in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Odyssean LLC bought a new position in PJT Partners during the second quarter valued at about $2,945,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PJT Partners Company Profile

PJT Partners is a global advisory-focused investment bank that delivers strategic advisory, restructuring and special situations, and capital solutions to corporations, partnerships, and governments. The firm operates through three primary business segments: Strategic Advisory, which covers mergers and acquisitions, shareholder advisory, and capital markets advisory; Restructuring and Special Situations, which provides advice on debt and liability management, distressed mergers and acquisitions, and financial restructurings; and Park Hill, the firm’s dedicated capital-raising and secondary advisory business for private equity, real estate, hedge funds, and infrastructure.

The Strategic Advisory practice at PJT Partners assists clients with complex transactions such as cross-border mergers, spin-offs, divestitures, and takeover defenses, drawing on deep industry expertise and global reach.