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

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Moody’s from $346.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Moody’s from $350.00 to $404.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Moody’s from $355.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 17th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, June 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Moody’s from $300.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Monday, July 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $325.53.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $339.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.79, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s has a 1 year low of $230.16 and a 1 year high of $363.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $342.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $321.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.98% and a net margin of 25.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 418 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $143,846.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 65,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,656,830.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 418 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $143,846.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 65,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,656,830.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael L. West sold 2,641 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.79, for a total value of $931,718.39. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,251 shares in the company, valued at $2,910,870.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,483 shares of company stock worth $8,360,390. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Natixis acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 4,900.0% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody's Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody's Investors Service and Moody's Analytics. The Moody's Investors Service segment publishes credit ratings and provides assessment services on various debt obligations, programs and facilities, and entities that issue such obligations, such as various corporate, financial institution, and governmental obligations, as well as and structured finance securities.