Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC) Short Interest Up 20.1% in March

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,610,000 shares, an increase of 20.1% from the February 28th total of 3,840,000 shares. Approximately 6.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 894,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days.

Moelis & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MC traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $49.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 596,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 707,136. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $67.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25 and a beta of 1.53. Moelis & Company has a fifty-two week low of $46.24 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89.

Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.79. Moelis & Company had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 38.49%. On average, analysts forecast that Moelis & Company will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moelis & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Moelis & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Moelis & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 147.73%.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MC. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $92.00 target price (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Moelis & Company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moelis & Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Moelis & Company from $86.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Moelis & Company from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moelis & Company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christopher Callesano sold 1,282 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $94,868.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,227 shares in the company, valued at $90,798. This represents a 51.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth Shropshire sold 2,551 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.30, for a total value of $184,437.30. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,940 shares in the company, valued at $501,762. This trade represents a 26.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,721 shares of company stock valued at $1,677,017 over the last three months. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moelis & Company

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,784,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moelis & Company by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 935,552 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $69,119,000 after purchasing an additional 12,632 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moelis & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,149,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Moelis & Company by 129.8% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,845 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $949,000 after purchasing an additional 7,819 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Moelis & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $412,000. Institutional investors own 91.53% of the company's stock.

About Moelis & Company

Moelis & Co operates as a holding company. It engages in the provision of financial advisory, capital raising and asset management services to a client base including corporations, governments, sovereign wealth funds and financial sponsors. The firm focuses on clients including large public multinational corporations, middle market private companies, financial sponsors, entrepreneurs and governments.