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

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $482.00 to $455.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $460.46.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $484.33 on Tuesday. Moody’s has a one year low of $298.86 and a one year high of $490.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $455.23 and its 200 day moving average is $415.16. The company has a market capitalization of $88.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s will post 11.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

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.