Moody’s (MCO) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Tuesday

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO – Get Rating) is scheduled to be announcing its earnings results before the market opens on Tuesday, January 31st. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.41 per share for the quarter. Investors interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 25th. The business services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.16). Moody’s had a net margin of 27.20% and a return on equity of 66.15%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Moody’s to post $8 EPS for the current fiscal year and $9 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Moody’s Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MCO traded down $4.83 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $315.36. 1,117,078 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 984,555. Moody’s has a 1 year low of $230.16 and a 1 year high of $354.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.63, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08. The business has a 50 day moving average of $293.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $284.65.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Moody’s by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 930,790 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $314,058,000 after purchasing an additional 145,436 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 70.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 256,787 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $86,642,000 after acquiring an additional 106,483 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 847,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $285,944,000 after acquiring an additional 53,224 shares during the period. Akre Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC now owns 5,659,712 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,909,643,000 after acquiring an additional 38,615 shares during the period. Finally, Eaton Vance Management lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 358,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $120,841,000 after acquiring an additional 35,962 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Moody’s from $294.00 to $293.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. Argus reduced their price objective on Moody’s from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 2nd. Atlantic Securities increased their price objective on Moody’s from $290.00 to $292.00 in a research note on Monday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Moody’s from $259.00 to $235.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Moody’s from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.47.

Moody’s Company Profile

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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.