PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Strong Earnings

PJT Partners Inc. (NYSE:PJT - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $189.00 and last traded at $186.97, with a volume of 92785 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $165.33.

The financial services provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $477.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $384.64 million. PJT Partners had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 18.79%. The firm's revenue was up 45.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share.

PJT Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. PJT Partners's payout ratio is 20.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Citizens Jmp lowered PJT Partners from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JMP Securities cut shares of PJT Partners from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group upgraded shares of PJT Partners from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of PJT Partners from $152.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, PJT Partners currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kenneth C. Whitney sold 1,725 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.75, for a total transaction of $275,568.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,453,725. This represents a 15.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PJT. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in PJT Partners by 3.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of PJT Partners by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 13,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,422,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of PJT Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at about $247,000. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of PJT Partners in the second quarter valued at about $310,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of PJT Partners by 15.6% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 8,648 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PJT Partners Stock Down 1.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.05 and a beta of 0.67. The company's 50-day moving average is $161.06 and its 200-day moving average is $144.51.

PJT Partners Company Profile

PJT Partners Inc, an investment bank, provides various strategic and capital markets advisory, restructuring and special situations, and shareholder advisory services to corporations, financial sponsors, institutional investors, and governments worldwide. It offers advisory services to clients on various transactions, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A), spin-offs, activism defense, contested M&A, joint ventures, minority investments, and divestitures.