Banking, finance, and taxes

What to Watch When Morgan Stanley Reports Thursday Morning

Chris Lange

Published: October 16, 2019 12:55 pm

Last Updated: January 30, 2020 2:32 pm

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is set to release its most recent quarterly results before the opening bell on Thursday. The consensus estimates are calling for $1.11 in earnings per share (EPS) and $9.63 billion in revenue. The third quarter of last year reportedly had $1.17 in EPS and $9.87 billion in revenue.

In the most recent quarter, management said that the company reported solid quarterly results across all its businesses. Firmwide revenues were over $10 billion, and Morgan Stanley produced a return on equity within its target range.

For the second quarter, book value per share was $44.13 and tangible book value per share was $38.44.

In terms of its business segments at that time, Morgan Stanley reported as follows:

• Investment Banking revenues decreased 11% year over year to $1.59 billion.
• Trading revenue decreased 17% to $2.73 billion.
• Investments revenue increased by 200% to $441 million.
• Commissions and Fees decreased by 6% to $979 million.
• Asset Management revenue increased 1% to $3.22 billion.
• Other revenue increased 4% to $253 million.

Excluding Wednesday’s move, Morgan Stanley had underperformed the broad markets, with its stock up only 7% year to date. In the past 52 weeks, the stock was actually down 2%.

Ahead of the report, a few analysts weighed in on stock:

• Pritchard Capital has a Buy rating with a $48 price target.
• Sandler O’Neill has a Buy rating and a $48 price target.
• BMO Capital Markets has a Buy rating with a $69 target price.
• Oppenheimer has a Buy rating with a $65 price target.
• Citigroup’s Buy rating comes with a $52 target price.

Shares of Morgan Stanley were trading up nearly 1% at $42.85 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $36.74 to $48.67. The consensus price target is $52.77.