Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.68 EPS

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68, Briefing.com reports. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.5 %

MS stock opened at $137.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $221.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $128.88 and its 200 day moving average is $113.31. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $138.08.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.40.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.