Q1 2024 Earnings Estimate for Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Issued By William Blair

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) – Equities research analysts at William Blair boosted their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Moody’s in a research note issued on Monday, April 15th. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now anticipates that the business services provider will earn $2.98 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.77. The consensus estimate for Moody’s’ current full-year earnings is $10.67 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.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Moody’s from $425.00 to $405.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.75.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Moody’s stock traded up $4.68 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $375.41. The company had a trading volume of 573,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 717,712. Moody’s has a 52 week low of $296.45 and a 52 week high of $407.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $385.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $368.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Markel Corp lifted its position in Moody’s by 0.8% during the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 212,990 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 6.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $717,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth about $1,078,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 8.7% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $668,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.3% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 30,994 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,457,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 38.95%.

About Moody’s

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.