PJT Partners (NYSE: PJT) and Moelis & (NYSE:MC) are both small-cap financials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitabiliy, valuation, earnings, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares PJT Partners and Moelis &’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| PJT Partners | $524.92 million | 1.41 | -$1.85 million | ($0.10) | -399.10 |
| Moelis & | $700.69 million | 1.57 | $55.04 million | $2.00 | 20.03 |
Moelis & has higher revenue and earnings than PJT Partners. PJT Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Moelis &, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
58.1% of PJT Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.9% of Moelis & shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.3% of PJT Partners shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 64.5% of Moelis & shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for PJT Partners and Moelis &, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| PJT Partners | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Moelis & | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2.57 |
PJT Partners presently has a consensus target price of $45.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.75%. Moelis & has a consensus target price of $37.57, suggesting a potential downside of 6.19%. Given PJT Partners’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe PJT Partners is more favorable than Moelis &.
Volatility and Risk
PJT Partners has a beta of 0.34, suggesting that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Moelis & has a beta of 1.87, suggesting that its stock price is 87% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares PJT Partners and Moelis &’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| PJT Partners | -0.52% | N/A | N/A |
| Moelis & | 8.50% | 52.98% | 24.68% |
Dividends
PJT Partners pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Moelis & pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. PJT Partners pays out -200.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Moelis & pays out 74.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Moelis & has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Moelis & is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Summary
Moelis & beats PJT Partners on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
PJT Partners Company Profile
PJT Partners Inc. is an advisory-focused investment bank. The Company offers an array of strategic advisory, restructuring and special situations and private fund advisory and placement services to corporations, financial sponsors, institutional investors and governments. It provides, through Park Hill Group, private fund advisory and placement services for alternative investment managers, including private equity funds, real estate funds and hedge funds. Its advisory business offers a range of financial advisory and transaction execution capability, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, minority investments, asset swaps, divestitures, takeover defenses, corporate finance advisory, private placements and distressed sales. Its Restructuring and Special Situations Group’s services include advising companies, creditors and financial sponsors on recapitalizations, reorganizations, exchange offers, debt repurchases, capital raises, and distressed mergers and acquisitions.
Moelis & Company Profile
Moelis & Company is an investment banking advisory company. The Company provides strategic and financial advice to a client base, including corporations, governments and financial sponsors. The Company offers financial advisory services across various industry sectors. It advices its clients on decisions, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A), recapitalizations and restructurings, and other corporate finance matters. With 17 offices located in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia, the Company provided information flow and cross-border solutions as of December 31, 2016. The Company offers advisory services in all industries, including consumer, retail and restaurants; energy, power and infrastructure; financial institutions; financial sponsors; general industrials; healthcare; real estate, gaming, lodging and leisure, and technology, media and telecommunications. It advises clients on all aspects of public and private debt and equity transactions.
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