MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Expected to Announce Earnings of $2.76 Per Share

Wall Street analysts predict that MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI – Get Rating) will post earnings per share of $2.76 for the current quarter, Zacks reports. Four analysts have provided estimates for MSCI’s earnings, with the lowest EPS estimate coming in at $2.67 and the highest estimate coming in at $2.98. MSCI reported earnings per share of $2.46 during the same quarter last year, which suggests a positive year-over-year growth rate of 12.2%. The firm is expected to report its next earnings report before the market opens on Monday, January 1st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that MSCI will report full year earnings of $11.54 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $11.29 to $11.85. For the next financial year, analysts forecast that the business will report earnings of $13.22 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $12.81 to $13.55. Zacks’ EPS calculations are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side analysts that follow MSCI.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 27th. The technology company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by ($0.01). MSCI had a negative return on equity of 256.92% and a net margin of 35.53%. The company had revenue of $549.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.10 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.9% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSCI. StockNews.com began coverage on MSCI in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on MSCI in a report on Tuesday, March 29th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $533.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $724.00 to $602.00 in a report on Friday, January 28th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of MSCI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $542.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on MSCI from $651.00 to $593.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $606.14.

MSCI stock opened at $486.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $39.50 billion, a PE ratio of 55.87 and a beta of 1.00. MSCI has a twelve month low of $442.48 and a twelve month high of $679.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $511.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $571.36.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 18th were issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 17th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.82%.

In other MSCI news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.80, for a total value of $432,480.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 3.02% of the company’s stock.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSCI. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in MSCI by 113.0% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 49 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in MSCI by 131.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 51 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Close Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.98% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Company Profile (Get Rating)

MSCI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides investment decision support tools for the clients to manage their investment processes worldwide. It operates through four segments: Index, Analytics, ESG and Climate, and All Other Â- Private Assets. The Index segment provides indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including indexed product creation, such as ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, futures, options, structured products, over-the-counter derivatives; performance benchmarking; portfolio construction and rebalancing; and asset allocation, as well as licenses GICS and GICS Direct.

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