Critical Survey: Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) & Interactive Brokers Group (NASDAQ:IBKR)

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) and Interactive Brokers Group (NASDAQ:IBKR) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Moelis & Company pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Interactive Brokers Group pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Moelis & Company pays out 102.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Interactive Brokers Group pays out 16.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Moelis & Company has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Interactive Brokers Group has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Volatility and Risk

Moelis & Company has a beta of 1.72, meaning that its stock price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Interactive Brokers Group has a beta of 1.23, meaning that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Moelis & Company and Interactive Brokers Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Moelis & Company	1	4	2	1	2.38
Interactive Brokers Group	0	1	7	0	2.88

Moelis & Company currently has a consensus target price of $69.67, suggesting a potential downside of 7.68%. Interactive Brokers Group has a consensus target price of $59.38, suggesting a potential downside of 4.76%. Given Interactive Brokers Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Interactive Brokers Group is more favorable than Moelis & Company.

Profitability

This table compares Moelis & Company and Interactive Brokers Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Moelis & Company	14.31%	42.72%	17.12%
Interactive Brokers Group	9.78%	4.92%	0.53%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.5% of Moelis & Company shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.8% of Interactive Brokers Group shares are held by institutional investors. 6.4% of Moelis & Company shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Interactive Brokers Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Moelis & Company and Interactive Brokers Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Moelis & Company	$1.38 billion	4.28	$136.02 million	$2.54	29.71
Interactive Brokers Group	$9.60 billion	11.02	$755.00 million	$1.94	32.13

Interactive Brokers Group has higher revenue and earnings than Moelis & Company. Moelis & Company is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Interactive Brokers Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About Moelis & Company

Moelis & Co. operates as a holding company. It engages in the provision of financial advisory, capital raising and asset management services to a client base including corporations, governments, sovereign wealth funds and financial sponsors. The firm focuses on clients including large public multinational corporations, middle market private companies, financial sponsors, entrepreneurs and governments. The company was founded by Kenneth David Moelis, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, Jeffrey Raich and Elizabeth Ann Crain in July 2007 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

About Interactive Brokers Group

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. operates as an automated electronic broker worldwide. The company engages in the execution, clearance, and settlement of trades in stocks, options, futures, foreign exchange instruments, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), precious metals, and cryptocurrencies. It also custodies and services accounts for hedge and mutual funds, ETFs, registered investment advisors, proprietary trading groups, introducing brokers, and individual investors. In addition, the company offers custody, prime brokerage, securities, and margin lending services. It serves institutional and individual customers through electronic exchanges and market centers. The company was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.