Short Interest in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Expands By 17.4%
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyMoody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,307,776 shares, a growth of 17.4% from the February 12th total of 1,965,580 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,684,721 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,684,721 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. This represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s
A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new position in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.
Moody’s Stock Performance
NYSE:MCO traded down $2.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $438.63. 1,090,381 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,386,372. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $478.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $486.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74.
Moody’s (NYSE:MCO – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Moody’s Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 30.12%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have issued reports on MCO. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Mizuho dropped their price target on Moody’s from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group cut their price target on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.25.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on MCO
Moody’s Company Profile
Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.
Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.