FY2027 EPS Forecast for Morgan Stanley Boosted by Analyst

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Erste Group Bank boosted their FY2027 EPS estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a report issued on Thursday, October 8th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $13.76 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $13.70. Erste Group Bank currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $12.66 per share.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. HSBC increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.43.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $189.94 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $151.88 and a 1 year high of $232.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $207.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.20. The company has a market capitalization of $299.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,854,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 201.0% in the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,890,000 after acquiring an additional 11,726 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 294,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,468,000 after acquiring an additional 28,877 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 279,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,452,000 after acquiring an additional 30,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,422,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,635,000 after acquiring an additional 287,056 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

More Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategist Kevin Warsh said tighter financial conditions—driven by higher Treasury yields, a stronger dollar and elevated energy prices—could reduce the need for additional Federal Reserve rate hikes. A less aggressive Fed could eventually support equity valuations and trading activity. The bond market is doing the Fed’s job, and that could be good news for stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s continued research activity—including naming eBay a top internet-sector pick and issuing views on other companies—highlights the strength of its equity-research and investment-banking franchise. However, the direct share-price benefit is likely limited because the calls primarily affect the covered companies. eBay Stock Jumps as Morgan Stanley Names eBay a Top Pick
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are looking ahead to Morgan Stanley’s earnings and FY2027 outlook, with particular attention on wealth-management flows, investment-banking revenue and trading performance. The firm’s latest reported quarter was strong, with earnings and revenue above consensus, but the market is now focused on whether that momentum can continue. Analysts Set Expectations for Morgan Stanley FY2027 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: High and rising bond yields are creating headwinds for banks by increasing funding costs and potentially slowing dealmaking, lending growth and capital-markets activity. Analysts also expect government borrowing costs and restrictive financial conditions to be key risks during third-quarter bank earnings. Q3 Earnings Season Begins: Global Week Ahead

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm serving corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and other investors. The company provides investment banking and advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, equity and debt underwriting, securities sales and trading, and corporate lending.

Through its Wealth Management business, Morgan Stanley offers financial planning, brokerage, investment advisory and banking services to individual investors, businesses and institutions.