Brokerages Expect Msci Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Will Post Earnings of $1.62 Per Share

December 2nd, 2019 - Comments Off - Filed Under - by Daniel Rudford

Equities analysts predict that Msci Inc (NYSE:MSCI) will post earnings of $1.62 per share for the current quarter, Zacks reports. Three analysts have issued estimates for Msci’s earnings, with the lowest EPS estimate coming in at $1.59 and the highest estimate coming in at $1.64. Msci reported earnings of $1.31 per share during the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year over year growth rate of 23.7%. The firm is scheduled to issue its next earnings report on Thursday, January 30th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Msci will report full year earnings of $6.40 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $6.36 to $6.42. For the next year, analysts anticipate that the company will post earnings of $7.15 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $6.95 to $7.27. Zacks’ EPS calculations are an average based on a survey of sell-side research firms that that provide coverage for Msci.

Msci (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The technology company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $394.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.79 million. Msci had a net margin of 39.20% and a negative return on equity of 243.52%. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS.

MSCI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Atlantic Securities initiated coverage on shares of Msci in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Msci from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $277.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Msci from $252.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Msci from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Msci from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.00.

In related news, COO Laurent Seyer sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.16, for a total transaction of $1,536,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 105,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,098,397.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez sold 29,873 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.63, for a total transaction of $7,666,307.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,717,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $440,842,350.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 53,873 shares of company stock valued at $13,567,148. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. Next Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Msci in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Squar Milner Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Msci in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Msci in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Thor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Msci in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in Msci by 285.7% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 162 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of MSCI stock traded down $2.62 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $256.57. 700,819 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 560,212. The firm has a market cap of $21.96 billion, a PE ratio of 47.96, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 1.16. Msci has a 1 year low of $134.28 and a 1 year high of $265.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $241.40 and a 200 day moving average of $233.02.

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Msci’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.84%.

About Msci

MSCI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides investment decision support tools for the clients to manage their investment processes worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Index, Analytics, ESG, and Real Estate. The Index segment primarily provides equity indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including index-linked product creation and performance benchmarking, as well as portfolio construction and rebalancing, and asset allocation.