Msci (MSCI) Downgraded by Zacks Investment Research to “Hold”

Msci (NYSE:MSCI) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

According to Zacks, “MSCI’s fourth-quarter 2018 results were impressive as both earnings and revenues increased on a year-over-year basis. Index sales and one-time sales in the quarter were highest in the company’s history. Moreover, in terms of retention rate, this fourth-quarter was best in MSCI’s history. Cancellation rate was also relatively low in the quarter. The company benefited from the growth of non-ETF passive funds related to MSCI indexes, exchange-traded futures and options products, strong demand for custom and factor index modules and the increasing adoption of the ESG solution into the investment process. MSCI also gained from strong traction in client segments, like wealth management, banks and broker dealers. Moreover, the company generated record free cash flow. Shares have outperformed the industry in the past year.”

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Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on MSCI. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Msci to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets set a $190.00 target price on Msci and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 2nd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $196.00 price objective (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Msci in a research note on Friday, February 1st. Buckingham Research began coverage on Msci in a research note on Friday, January 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $171.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Msci from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.50.

Shares of NYSE:MSCI traded up $2.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $173.88. 152,139 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 636,650. The company has a market cap of $15.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.50, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.80, a quick ratio of 2.75 and a current ratio of 2.75. Msci has a 52-week low of $134.28 and a 52-week high of $184.22.

Msci (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 31st. The technology company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $361.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.95 million. Msci had a return on equity of 125.73% and a net margin of 35.42%. Analysts predict that Msci will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSCI. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Msci by 252.9% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 247 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Msci in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Msci by 865.3% in the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 473 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. We Are One Seven LLC acquired a new position in shares of Msci in the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Msci in the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.61% of the company’s stock.

Msci Company Profile

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.

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