Moody’s Co. Expected to Post Q1 2024 Earnings of $2.98 Per Share (NYSE:MCO)

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) – Investment analysts at William Blair increased their Q1 2024 earnings 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 $2.98 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.77. The consensus estimate for Moody’s’ current full-year earnings is $10.68 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Moody’s’ Q2 2024 earnings at $2.70 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $10.60 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $12.35 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MCO. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Moody’s from $425.00 to $405.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upgraded shares of Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.75.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $374.60 on Wednesday. Moody’s has a 52 week low of $296.45 and a 52 week high of $407.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $384.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $368.73. The company has a market capitalization of $68.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 55.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.85 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.95%.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 4,900.0% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Moody’s in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.