Moody's (MCO) Stock Forecast & Price Target

$479.15 +6.31 (+1.33%)

As of 01/3/2025 05:39 PM Eastern

Moody's - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2025)

MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.

Consensus Rating

Moderate Buy

Based on 15 Analyst Ratings

Sell
1

Hold
5

Buy
9

Based on 15 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Moody's in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy." Out of the 15 analysts, 1 has given a sell rating, 5 have given a hold rating, and 9 have given a buy rating for MCO.

Consensus Price Target

$506.14
5.63% Upside

According to the 15 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Moody's, the average price target is $506.14. The highest price target for MCO is $570.00, while the lowest price target for MCO is $410.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 5.63% from the current price of $479.15.

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MCO Analyst Ratings Over Time

Type	Current Forecast 1/6/24 to 1/5/25	1 Month Ago 12/7/23 to 12/6/24	3 Months Ago 10/8/23 to 10/7/24	1 Year Ago 1/6/23 to 1/6/24
Strong Buy	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy	9 Buy rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)
Hold	5 Hold rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)
Sell	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target	$506.14	$500.00	$483.85	$363.38
Forecasted Upside	5.63% Upside	1.07% Upside	5.78% Upside	-2.23% Downside
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy	Moderate Buy

MCO Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.

MCO Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.

Moody's Stock vs. The Competition

Type	Moody's	Finance Companies	S&P 500
Consensus Rating Score	2.53	2.50	2.51
Consensus Rating	Moderate Buy	Hold	Moderate Buy
Predicted Upside	5.63% Upside	45.23% Upside	14.54% Upside
News Sentiment Rating	Positive News See Recent MCO News	Positive News	Positive News

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Rating

Upside/Downside

Action

Time Frame

Start Date

End Date

Show

Export to Excel

Date	Brokerage	Analyst Name	Action	Rating	Price Target	Upside/Downside on Report Date
1/3/2025	Oppenheimer 3 of 5 stars		Boost Target	Outperform ➝ Outperform	$543.00 ➝ $545.00	+14.50%
12/20/2024	Citigroup 3 of 5 stars	P. Christiansen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Initiated Coverage	Buy	$565.00	+22.27%
12/12/2024	Morgan Stanley 3 of 5 stars		Boost Target	Equal Weight ➝ Equal Weight	$462.00 ➝ $481.00	-3.22%
10/23/2024	Stifel Nicolaus Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Hold ➝ Hold	$454.00 ➝ $459.00	-2.06%
10/23/2024	UBS Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Neutral ➝ Neutral	$495.00 ➝ $510.00	+8.89%
10/23/2024	Robert W. Baird Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Outperform ➝ Outperform	$490.00 ➝ $512.00	+9.47%
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10/15/2024	BMO Capital Markets Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	J. Silber Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Market Perform ➝ Market Perform	$455.00 ➝ $464.00	-4.07%
10/9/2024	Wells Fargo & Company Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	J. Haas Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Overweight ➝ Overweight	$510.00 ➝ $550.00	+16.68%
10/2/2024	Evercore ISI Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	D. Motemaden Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Initiated Coverage	Outperform	$521.00	+10.52%
9/23/2024	Raymond James Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	P. O'shaughnessy Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Downgrade	Market Perform ➝ Underperform
9/13/2024	Barclays Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Overweight ➝ Overweight	$500.00 ➝ $570.00	+19.39%
9/3/2024	The Goldman Sachs Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Neutral ➝ Neutral	$460.00 ➝ $514.00	+5.71%
7/24/2024	Royal Bank of Canada Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Outperform ➝ Outperform	$450.00 ➝ $475.00	+8.00%
7/16/2024	Bank of America Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Buy ➝ Buy	$430.00 ➝ $510.00	+14.17%
2/14/2024	JPMorgan Chase & Co. Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Lower Target	Overweight ➝ Overweight	$420.00 ➝ $410.00	+12.20%
9/13/2023	Wolfe Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating		Initiated Coverage	Outperform	$390.00	+13.64%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Monday at 12:57 AM ET.

Should I Buy Moody's Stock? MCO Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Monday, December 30, 2024. Please send any questions or comments about these Moody's pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Moody's
Bull Case

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Moody's Co.:

Strong Earnings Performance: Moody's Co. reported earnings per share of $3.21 for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.89, indicating robust financial health and effective management.
Significant Revenue Growth: The company achieved a year-over-year revenue increase of 23.2%, reaching $1.81 billion, showcasing its ability to expand and capture market share.
High Return on Equity: With a return on equity of 57.97%, Moody's Co. demonstrates efficient use of shareholders' equity to generate profits, which is attractive to investors looking for strong performance metrics.
Consistent Dividend Payments: Moody's Co. has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $3.40 and a yield of 0.69%, providing a steady income stream for investors.
Current Stock Price: As of now, Moody's Co. is trading at approximately $462.40, which reflects its strong market position and investor confidence.

Moody's
Bear Case

Investors should be bearish about investing in Moody's Co. for these reasons:

High Valuation Ratios: The company has a P/E ratio of 44.89 and a PEG ratio of 3.22, suggesting that the stock may be overvalued relative to its earnings growth potential, which could deter value-focused investors.
Insider Selling Activity: Recent transactions show that key executives, including the CEO and SVP, have sold shares, which may raise concerns about their confidence in the company's future performance.
Market Volatility: With a beta of 1.30, Moody's Co. is more volatile than the overall market, indicating that its stock price may experience larger fluctuations, which could be risky for conservative investors.
Dividend Payout Ratio: While the company pays dividends, its payout ratio of 31.05% suggests that a significant portion of earnings is retained for growth, which may not satisfy income-focused investors.
Potential Economic Sensitivity: As a risk assessment firm, Moody's Co. may be sensitive to economic downturns, which could impact its revenue and profitability during challenging economic conditions.

MCO Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

: According to the research reports of 15 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Moody's is $506.14, with a high forecast of $570.00 and a low forecast of $410.00.
: 15 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Moody's in the last year. There is currently 1 sell rating, 5 hold ratings and 9 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" MCO shares.
: According to analysts, Moody's's stock has a predicted upside of 5.63% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.
: Moody's has been rated by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer, Robert W. Baird, Stifel Nicolaus, UBS Group, and Wells Fargo & Company in the past 90 days.
: Analysts like Moody's more than other "finance" companies. The consensus rating for Moody's is Moderate Buy while the average consensus rating for "finance" companies is Hold. Learn more on how MCO compares to other companies.

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This page (NYSE:MCO) was last updated on 1/5/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff

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Moody's (MCO) Stock Forecast & Price Target