PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT) Lowered to Market Perform Rating by JMP Securities

JMP Securities lowered shares of PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on PJT Partners from $151.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of PJT Partners from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

PJT Partners Stock Performance

Shares of PJT opened at $152.15 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 38.62 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.39. PJT Partners has a 1 year low of $88.51 and a 1 year high of $168.92.

PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. PJT Partners had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 18.79%. The company had revenue of $326.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $313.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PJT Partners will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current year.

PJT Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 4th. PJT Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel David Adam Travin sold 1,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.18, for a total value of $245,296.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth C. Whitney sold 1,725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 9,100 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,725. This represents a 15.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,766 shares of company stock worth $762,980. 11.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PJT Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of PJT Partners by 5.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,001,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,595,000 after purchasing an additional 54,071 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in PJT Partners by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 619,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,556,000 after buying an additional 45,327 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its position in PJT Partners by 7.4% during the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 594,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,252,000 after buying an additional 41,119 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in PJT Partners by 5.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 458,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,446,000 after buying an additional 22,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in PJT Partners by 10.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 417,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,639,000 after buying an additional 41,007 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About PJT Partners

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.