How to buy Moodys Corporation stock | 289.06

Moody's Corporation is a financial data & stock exchanges business based in the US. Moodys Corporation shares (MCO) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Moodys Corporation employs 11,279 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$5.2 billion.

How to buy shares in Moodys Corporation

1. Compare share trading platforms. If you're a beginner, look for a platform with low commissions, expert ratings and investment tools to track your portfolio. Narrow down top brands with our comparison table.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and bank information. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for Moodys Corporation. Find the stock by name or ticker symbol: MCO. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Moodys Corporation reaches your desired price. To spread out your purchase, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of USD$289.06, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimize risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Moodys Corporation, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Moodys Corporation. Optimize your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

How has coronavirus impacted Moodys Corporation's share price?

Since the stock market crash in March caused by coronavirus, Moodys Corporation's share price has had significant positive movement.

Its last market close was USD$289.06, which is 5.96% up on its pre-crash value of USD$271.83 and 76.05% up on the lowest point reached during the March crash when the shares fell as low as USD$164.19.

If you had bought USD$1,000 worth of Moodys Corporation shares at the start of February 2020, those shares would have been worth USD$632.29 at the bottom of the March crash, and if you held on to them, then as of the last market close they'd be worth USD$1,107.10.

Moodys Corporation share price

Use our graph to track the performance of MCO stocks over time.

Moodys Corporation shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2020-10-20.

Latest market close	USD$289.06
52-week range	USD$164.19 - USD$305.96
50-day moving average	USD$287.6263
200-day moving average	USD$272.8638
Wall St. target price	USD$313.42
PE ratio	31.6605
Dividend yield	USD$2.24 (0.79%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	USD$9.124

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Is it a good time to buy Moodys Corporation stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of Moody's Corporation by TradingView

This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.

Moodys Corporation price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $289.06 from 2020-10-16

1 week (2020-11-20)	5.91%
1 month (2020-10-27)	8.59%
3 months (2020-08-27)	-1.06%
6 months (2020-05-27)	11.70%

1 year (2019-11-27)	27.60%
2 years (2018-11-27)	89.29%
3 years (2017-11-27)	92.87%
5 years (2015-11-27)	178.50%

Is Moodys Corporation under- or over-valued?

Valuing Moodys Corporation stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Moodys Corporation's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

Moodys Corporation's P/E ratio

Moodys Corporation's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 32x. In other words, Moodys Corporation shares trade at around 32x recent earnings.

That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.

Moodys Corporation's PEG ratio

Moodys Corporation's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 2.5368. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Moodys Corporation's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

Moodys Corporation's EBITDA

Moodys Corporation's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is USD$2.6 billion.

The EBITDA is a measure of a Moodys Corporation's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

Moodys Corporation financials

Revenue TTM	USD$5.2 billion
Operating margin TTM	45.44%
Gross profit TTM	USD$3.4 billion
Return on assets TTM	14.13%
Return on equity TTM	192.09%
Profit margin	33.4%
Book value	$5.546
Market capitalisation	USD$53.6 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting Moodys Corporation shares

There are currently 1.9 million Moodys Corporation shares held short by investors – that's known as Moodys Corporation's "short interest". This figure is 69.3% up from 1.1 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Moodys Corporation shares can be evaluated.

Moodys Corporation's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

Moodys Corporation's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Moodys Corporation shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Moodys Corporation shares traded daily (recently around 617816.56050955). Moodys Corporation's SIR currently stands at 3.14. In other words for every 100,000 Moodys Corporation shares traded daily on the market, roughly 3140 shares are currently held short.

However Moodys Corporation's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Moodys Corporation shares, or, against the total number of tradable Moodys Corporation shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Moodys Corporation's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Moodys Corporation shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.012% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Moodys Corporation shares, roughly 12 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Moodys Corporation.

Find out more about how you can short Moodys Corporation stock.

Moodys Corporation's environmental, social and governance track record

Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Moodys Corporation.

When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.

Moodys Corporation's total ESG risk score

Total ESG risk: 8.18

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Moodys Corporation's overall score of 8.18 (as at 10/01/2020) is excellent – landing it in it in the 3rd percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Moodys Corporation is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).

Moodys Corporation's environmental score

Environmental score: 3.92/100

Moodys Corporation's social score

Social score: 4.4/100

Moodys Corporation's governance score

Governance score: 2.2/100

Moodys Corporation's controversy score

Controversy score: 2/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Moodys Corporation scored a 2 out of 5 for controversy – the second-highest score possible, reflecting that Moodys Corporation has, for the most part, managed to keep its nose clean.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

Moody's Corporation was last rated for ESG on: 2020-10-01.

Total ESG score	8.18
Total ESG percentile	2.76
Environmental score	3.92
Social score	4.4
Governance score	2.2
Level of controversy	2

Moodys Corporation share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 22.5% of net profits

Recently Moodys Corporation has paid out, on average, around 22.5% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 0.79% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), Moodys Corporation shareholders could enjoy a 0.79% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Moodys Corporation's case, that would currently equate to about $2.24 per share.

While Moodys Corporation's payout ratio might seem low, this can signify that Moodys Corporation is investing more in its future growth.

Moodys Corporation's most recent dividend payout was on 10 September 2020. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 19 August 2020 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have Moodys Corporation's shares ever split?

Moodys Corporation's shares were split on a 2:1 basis on 19 May 2005. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 2 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Moodys Corporation shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 50% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Moodys Corporation shares which in turn could have impacted Moodys Corporation's share price.

Moodys Corporation share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Moodys Corporation's shares have ranged in value from as little as $164.19 up to $305.96. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Moodys Corporation's is 1.1224. This would suggest that Moodys Corporation's shares are a little bit more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a slightly higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

Moodys Corporation overview

Moody's Corporation provides credit ratings and assessment services; and credit, capital markets, and economic research, data, and analytical tools worldwide. It operates through two segments, Moody's Investors Service and Moody's Analytics. The Moody's Investors Service segment publishes credit ratings and provides assessment services on various debt obligations and entities that issue such obligations, such as various corporate and governmental obligations, structured finance securities, and commercial paper programs. This segment provides ratings in approximately 130 countries. Its ratings are disseminated through press releases to the public through print and electronic media, including the Internet and real-time information systems used by securities traders and investors. As of December 31, 2019, this segment had ratings relationships with approximately 4,900 non-financial corporate issuers; 4,100 financial institutions issuers; 17,200 public finance issuers; and 1,000 infrastructure and project finance issuers, as well as 9,500 structured finance transactions. The Moody's Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support financial analysis and risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets; and offers subscription based research, data, and analytical products comprising credit ratings, credit research, quantitative credit scores and other analytical tools, economic research and forecasts, business intelligence and company information products, and commercial real estate data and analytical tools. It also offers software solutions, as well as related risk management services; and offshore analytical and research services with learning solutions and certification programs. The company was formerly known as Dun and Bradstreet Company and changed its name to Moody's Corporation in September 2000. Moody's Corporation was founded in 1900 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of Moodys Corporation is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 0.408% of Moodys Corporation shares are held by insiders and 94.565% by institutions.

• How many people work for Moodys Corporation?

  Latest data suggests 11,279 work at Moodys Corporation.

• When does the fiscal year end for Moodys Corporation?

  Moodys Corporation's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is Moodys Corporation based?

  Moodys Corporation's address is: 7 World Trade Center, New York, NY, United States, 10007

• What is Moodys Corporation's ISIN number?

  Moodys Corporation's international securities identification number is: US6153691059

• What is Moodys Corporation's CUSIP number?

  Moodys Corporation's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 615369105