What to Expect When Morgan Stanley Reports Thursday Morning

Banking, finance, and taxes

Published: July 17, 2019 1:35 pm

Last Updated: January 30, 2020 6:28 pm

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is scheduled to release its second-quarter financial results before the markets on Thursday. The consensus estimates are calling for $1.14 in earnings per share (EPS) and $9.99 billion in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had $1.30 in EPS and $10.61 billion in revenue.

Morgan Stanley is one of the top 10 banks repurchasing $125 billion over the next year. This investment house received no objection to its 2019 capital plan, which includes the repurchase of up to $6.0 billion of outstanding common shares for the four-quarter period, an increase from $4.7 billion for the comparable similar period in the 2018 capital plan. Morgan Stanley also will raise its quarterly common stock dividend to $0.35 per share from the current $0.30.

In the first quarter, Morgan Stanley reported that its book value per common share totaled $42.83 while tangible book value per common share was $37.62. The common equity tier 1 capital ratio was 16.5% for the quarter.

At the same time, the firm reported its business segments as follows:

Institutional Securities net revenues dropped to $5.20 billion from $6.10 billion year over year.
Wealth Management net revenues increased slightly to $4.39 billion from $4.37 billion.
Investment Management revenues increased to $804 million from $718 million.

Excluding Wednesday’s move, Morgan Stanley had underperformed the broad markets, with the stock up about 12% year to date. In the past 52 weeks, the stock is actually down about 8%.

A few analysts weighed in on Morgan Stanley ahead of the report:

Citigroup has a Buy rating and a $52 price target.
RBC has a Buy rating with a $60 price target.
BMO Capital Markets rates it as Outperform with a $68 target.
Wells Fargo has a Buy rating.

Shares of Morgan Stanley traded down about 1% at $43.95 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $36.74 to $51.53. The consensus price target is $53.62.

24/7 Wall St.
Deutsche Bank Has 4 Sizzling Software Stocks for the Rest of 2019

The Average American Is Losing Momentum on Their Savings Every Day (Sponsor)

If you’re like many Americans and keep your money ‘safe’ in a checking or savings account, think again. The average yield on a savings account is a paltry .4%* today. Checking accounts are even worse.

But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying nearly 10x the national average! That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe and earn more at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 3.80% with a Checking & Savings Account today Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.

Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes to open an account to make your money work for you.

^*https://www.fdic.gov/national-rates-and-rate-caps