Morgan Stanley (MS) to Post Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) will issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, January 16th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.54 per share for the quarter. Investors that are interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. On average, analysts expect Morgan Stanley to post $7 EPS for the current fiscal year and $8 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $127.83 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $205.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $128.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $136.24.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.80.

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.