After Mixed Results In Q4, Is Morgan Stanley Stock A Buy?

[Updated 02/18/2022] Morgan Stanley Update

Morgan Stanley’s stock (NYSE: MS) has lost 2% YTD, outperforming the S&P500 over the same period (down 8%). However, it still has an upside potential of 21% to its fair value of $116 – Trefis’ estimate for Morgan Stanley’s valuation. The bank posted mixed fourth-quarter results, with earnings topping estimates and revenues falling short. It reported total revenues of $14.5 billion – up 7% y-o-y. This could be attributed to a 59% y-o-y jump in investment management and a 10% increase in wealth management businesses, partially offset by a 4% drop in the institutional securities unit. The investment management business benefited from the higher Assets under Management (AuM) – segment AuM increased 100% y-o-y to $1.56 trillion. Similarly, the wealth management business grew on the back of higher AuM and an increase in the outstanding loan balance. On the flip side, the institutional securities’ revenues fell in the quarter due to a 31% drop in the FICC (fixed income, currency, & commodity) trading revenues. Overall, the bank’s adjusted net income increased 10% y-o-y to $3.6 billion in Q4.

The company’s revenues of $59.8 billion in FY2021 were 23% more than the previous year. It was driven by a 67% jump in the investment management business, followed by a 27% rise in wealth management, and a 13% growth in the institutional securities unit. The unusually high growth in investment management was driven by an increase in AuM, which was mostly due to the acquisition of Eaton Vance and partly due to organic growth. On a similar note, the wealth management business reported a 27% y-o-y increase in the asset management fees due to a 23% y-o-y rise in total client assets to $4.93 trillion. The institutional securities segment, which generates close to 50% of the total revenues, benefited from a 43% growth in investment banking and a 15% rise in the equity trading revenues, partially offset by a 15% decline in the FICC trading. 

Going forward, we expect the Fed to increase the interest rates in FY2022. This will likely help the net interest income (NII). Further, the investment and wealth management divisions are likely to maintain their growth trajectory. That said, the sales & trading and investment banking revenues are expected to normalize in the subsequent quarters with recovery in the economy. Altogether, Morgan Stanley’s revenues are likely to touch $59.4 billion in FY2022 – marginally lower. Additionally, MS’ net income increased 39% y-o-y to $14.6 billion in the year, partly due to higher revenues and partly due to lower expenses as a % of revenues. We expect the net income margin to slightly decrease in 2022, leading to a net income of around $13.9 billion and EPS of $8.05. This coupled with a P/E multiple of just above 14x, will lead to the valuation of $116.

Below you’ll find our previous coverage of Morgan Stanley stock where you can track our view over time.

[Updated 12/29/2021] Morgan Stanley Stock Still Has Some Upside

Morgan Stanley’s stock (NYSE: MS) has gained around 46% YTD and is currently trading close to $100 per share – a marginal decline since the third-quarter earnings release. However, it still has an 11% upside potential to its fair value of $111 – Trefis’ estimate for Morgan Stanley’s valuation. The bank delivered better than expected results in the last quarter, and both revenues and earnings increased on a year-on-year basis. The top-line grew on the back of growth in investment banking, equity trading, asset management, and wealth management segments. While the investment banking business benefited from higher mergers & acquisitions (M&A) and IPO deals, the asset and wealth management unit was supported by the acquisition of E-Trade and Eaton Vance. We expect the same trend to continue in the fourth quarter of the year. Notably, the consensus estimates for fourth-quarter revenues and earnings are around $14.6 billion and $1.88, respectively. 

The investment bank benefited from growth in institutional securities (investment banking and sales & trading) in 2020, followed by an increase in asset and wealth management assets under management (AuM). The story was quite the same in 2021, as well. Notably, the cumulative nine month revenues in 2021 increased 29% y-o-y to $45.2 billion. Moving forward, as the economic conditions improve, the investment banking and sales & trading revenues are likely to normalize in the subsequent quarters. Further, the Fed’s tapering of corporate bond purchases will likely hurt the debt origination deal volume. That said, the wealth and asset management businesses are likely to continue their growth trajectory. Overall, Morgan Stanley’s revenues are likely to touch $59.8 billion in FY2021 – up 24% y-o-y. Additionally, the bank is likely to report an adjusted net income of $11.9 billion and an EPS figure of $7.88 in the year. This coupled with a P/E multiple of just above 14x, will lead to the valuation of $111.

Below you’ll find our previous coverage of Morgan Stanley stock where you can track our view over time.

[Updated 11/04/2021] Morgan Stanley Stock Has Limited Upside

Morgan Stanley’s stock (NYSE: MS) has gained more than 50% YTD in FY2021 and is currently trading around $105 per share. However, it still has a 6% upside potential to its fair value of $111 – Trefis’ estimate for Morgan Stanley’s valuation. The bank has outperformed the street expectations in the first two quarters of the year, and it continued the same momentum in the recently released third-quarter results. The revenues increased 26% y-o-y to $14.8 billion in the quarter, mainly driven by a 22% growth in institutional securities and a 28% increase in wealth management segments. The institutional securities division benefited from a 67% y-o-y jump in the investment banking revenues, led by higher mergers & acquisitions (M&A) and IPO activity. Further, the company reported strong growth in the equities trading business, partially offset by lower FICC (fixed income, commodity, & currency) trading revenues. On a similar note, the wealth management revenue growth was primarily due to higher asset management fees driven by growth in total client assets to $4.6 trillion – up 2% sequentially. Additionally, MS’ adjusted net income increased 38% y-o-y to $3.6 billion in the quarter partly due to higher revenues and partly because of lower operating expenses as a % of revenues.

The company’s top-line grew 16% y-o-y in 2020, mainly driven by higher institutional securities and wealth management revenues. Further, the same trend continued in the first three quarters of 2021. Going forward, we expect the investment banking and sales & trading revenues to normalize over the subsequent quarters, negatively impacting the institutional securities segment. That said, the wealth management and investment management segments are likely to maintain their growth trajectory driven by higher client assets. Overall, Morgan Stanley’s revenues are likely to touch $59.8 billion in FY2021 – up 24% y-o-y. Additionally, MS’ net income margin is likely to see a slight drop in the year, partially offsetting the positive effect of revenue growth. The bank is likely to report an adjusted net income of $11.9 billion in FY2021. This will enable the firm to report an EPS of $7.88, which coupled with a P/E multiple of just above 14x, will lead to the valuation of $111.

[Updated 8/19/2021] Morgan Stanley Stock Is Trading Close To Its Fair Value

Morgan Stanley’s stock (NYSE: MS) has gained 53% YTD, and at its current price of $101 per share, it is trading slightly above its fair value of 100 – Trefis’ estimate for Morgan Stanley’s valuation. The bank recently released its second-quarter FY2021 results, beating the earnings and revenues expectations. It reported total revenues of $14.8 billion – up 8% y-o-y, mainly driven by a 92% y-o-y jump in investment management and a 30% increase in wealth management businesses. The growth was partially offset by a 14% drop in the institutional securities segment, primarily due to a 45% decline in FICC (fixed income, currency, and commodity) trading revenues. However, strong growth in equity trading and investment banking businesses was able to somewhat support the segment. Altogether, it translated into a 12% y-o-y increase in the adjusted net income to $3.4 billion. 

The company’s revenues of $48.2 billion in 2020 were 16% above the year-ago period. The bank reported a 27% y-o-y growth in the institutional securities segment (sales & trading and investment banking), thanks to the unusually high trading volumes and a jump in underwriting deal volumes. Further, the wealth management unit recorded a 7% growth in the year driven by asset growth – the segment benefited from the acquisition of E*TRADE in the last quarter of 2020. The same trend continued in the first quarter of 2021, also. However, the sales & trading revenues suffered in the second quarter, leading to a decline in the institutional securities revenues. That said, the sales & trading and investment banking revenues are likely to normalize over the subsequent quarters with recovery in the economy. However, the wealth management and investment management businesses are expected to continue their growth trajectory, driven by asset growth. Overall, Morgan Stanley’s revenues are likely to touch $57.8 billion in FY2021 – up 20% y-o-y. Additionally, MS has doubled its common stock dividend to $0.70 (effective from the third quarter), in addition to a share repurchase plan of $12 billion valid for the next four quarters. This coupled with higher revenues will likely enable the firm to report an EPS of $7.38 in the year, which coupled with a P/E multiple of just below 14x, will lead to the valuation of $100.

[Updated 7/06/2021] Morgan Stanley Stock To Increase Quarterly Dividend By 100%

Morgan Stanley’s stock (NYSE: MS) has gained 34% YTD, and at its current price of $92 per share, it is trading slightly above its fair value of 89 – Trefis’ estimate for Morgan Stanley’s valuation. The Federal Reserve released its 2021 Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (“CCAR”) stress test results on 24 June. While the Fed imposed restrictions on dividend payout and share buyback by large banks in 2020 to preserve capital in light of the Covid-19 crisis, it has cleared all the 23 participating financial institutions this year. As a result of the positive stress test results, Morgan Stanley has decided to increase its common stock dividend by 100% to $0.70, beginning the third quarter. Further, it announced a share repurchase plan of $12 billion, which will be valid for the next four quarters.

Morgan Stanley reported total net revenues of $48.2 billion for the full year 2020 – up 16% y-o-y. It was primarily due to strong growth in sales & trading investment banking businesses driven by higher trading volumes and a jump in underwriting deals. Further, the wealth management and investment management segments have seen significant growth in client assets – the wealth management division received a big boost from the acquisition of E*TRADE in the last quarter of 2020. The same trend continued in the first quarter of 2020 as well, with the firm reporting 66% y-o-y growth in institutional securities (sales & trading and investment banking) followed by strong asset growth in both wealth management and investment management segments. Moving forward, we expect the trading volumes and underwriting deal volumes to normalize over the subsequent quarters. However, wealth and investment management businesses will likely drive growth for the company, enabling Morgan Stanley’s revenues to touch $54.6 billion in FY2021. Additionally, the firm is likely to report a EPS of $6.89 in the year, which coupled with a P/E multiple of just below 13x, will lead to the valuation of $89.

[Updated 1/29/2021] Morgan Stanley Stock Has More Room For Growth

Having gained close to 150% since the March 23 lows of the last year, Morgan Stanley stock (NYSE: MS) is trading 23% above its pre-Covid peak in February 2020. That said, we believe that it has more scope for growth. Trefis estimates Morgan Stanley’s valuation to be around $78 per share – around 15% above the current market price. Morgan Stanley is one of the top five U.S. investment banks and is a market leader in the equities trading space. Its strength in sales & trading was the primary reason for its positive growth in the year, which was also evident in the recently released fourth-quarter results. The bank reported better than expected results with total revenues of $13.6 billion – up by 26% y-o-y. Sales & Trading revenues jumped by 32% y-o-y coupled with a 46% growth in the investment banking segment. Notably, Wealth Management revenues grew 24% y-o-y in Q4, driven by the E*TRADE acquisition – E*TRADE was integrated with the wealth management segment at the start of October 2020.

Morgan Stanley reported revenues of $48.2 billion for the full year 2020 – up 16% y-o-y. It was primarily driven by 27% y-o-y growth in the Institutional Securities segment, which includes both sales & trading (up by 37%) and investment banking (up by 26%) businesses. The bank has a strong sales & trading arm, which benefited from higher trading volumes in 2020. Similarly, its investment banking segment gained from a jump in underwriting deal volume. However, as the economic condition improves, higher trading and underwriting deal volumes are likely to normalize in the subsequent quarters. This is likely to hurt Institutional Securities revenues in FY2021. Despite this, positive growth in investment management and wealth management revenues are likely to take Morgan Stanley’s revenues to around $49 billion in FY 2021 – slightly above the 2020 figure.

Despite the Covid-19 crisis, the bank reported a 23% y-o-y improvement in its adjusted net income figure in 2020. The growth was partly due to higher revenues and partly driven by lower operating expenses as a % of revenues. This led to an EPS of $6.47 – up 25% as compared to 2019. However, we expect the net income margin to slightly suffer in FY2021, reducing the bank’s EPS figure to $6.06. Additionally, the bank is likely to start its share repurchase program from the first quarter of 2021. Overall, the EPS of $6.06 coupled with the P/E multiple of just below 13x will lead to a valuation of around $78.

[Updated 11/20/2020] After Positive Q3 Results, Morgan Stanley Stock Is Fairly Priced

In view of more than a 100% gain since the March bottom, we believe Morgan Stanley stock (NYSE: MS) has achieved its near-term potential. Trefis estimates Morgan Stanley’s valuation to be around $58 per share – marginally below the current market price. The company has benefited from strength in its sales & trading arm, which has delivered better than expected results over the recent quarters. In its recently released third-quarter 2020 results, Morgan Stanley surpassed the consensus estimates and reported total revenues of $11.66 billion – up 16% y-o-y, mainly driven by a 35% y-o-y jump in sales & trading revenues coupled with an 11% growth in the investment banking segment. 

We expect the bank to report $44.3 billion in revenue for FY 2020 – 7% more than the year-ago period. However, its net income is likely to remain around the previous year level due to higher operating expenses, slightly improving the EPS figure to $5.24 for FY 2020. Thereafter, Morgan Stanley’s revenues are expected to decline to $43.8 billion in FY2021, mainly driven by a drop in investment banking and sales & trading business. The investment banking giant has completed the acquisition of E*TRADE on 2nd October 2020 in an all-stock transaction, which will further add to its wealth management business. This is likely to improve the wealth management revenues in the subsequent year, partially offsetting the weakness in other segments. The EPS figure is likely to remain around $5, which coupled with the P/E multiple of just below 12x will lead to a valuation of $58.

[Updated 07/30/2020] Morgan Stanley Stock Gained 83% Over Recent Months, Is It Still Undervalued?

Morgan Stanley stock (NYSE: MS) lost more than 44% – dropping from $50 at the end of 2019 to around $28 in late March – then spiked 83% to around $51 now. This means that the stock has touched the level seen at the end of 2019.

There were two clear reasons for this – The Covid-19 outbreak and economic slowdown meant that market expectations for 2020 and the near-term consumer demand dropped. This could cause significant losses for businesses and individuals alike, impacting their loan repayment capability and exposing Morgan Stanley to sizable wealth management loan losses. The multi-billion-dollar Fed stimulus provided a floor, and the stock recovery owes much to that.

But this isn’t the end of the story for Morgan Stanley stock

Trefis estimates Morgan Stanley’s valuation to be around $58 per share – about 15% above the current market price – based on an upcoming trigger explained below and one risk factor.

The trigger is an improved trajectory for Morgan Stanley’s revenues over the second half of the year. We expect the company to report $42.4 billion in revenues for 2020 – 2.4% higher than the figure for 2019. Our forecast stems from our belief that the economy is likely to open up in Q3. Further, as the lockdown restrictions are easing in most of the world, consumer demand is likely to pick up too. The company has derived positive growth in Q1 and Q2 mainly due to strength in its trading arm, followed by higher investment banking revenues. This jump could be attributed to the Fed stimulus, which set the floor for businesses to raise corporate debt, benefiting both underwriting business and the sales & trading division of the bank. This has largely offset the impact of weak revenues in other segments. While the trading income is expected to decline as compared to the first two quarters, it is likely to drive positive growth in the second half as well. Overall, we see the company reporting an EPS in the range of $4.92 for FY2020.

Thereafter, Morgan Stanley’s revenues are expected to slightly drop to $42 billion in FY2021, mainly due to a drop in the sales & trading business. Further, the bank has regularly invested in share repurchases and is likely to buy back stock close to 2019 levels, leading to an EPS of $5.02 for FY2021. 

Finally, how much should the market pay per dollar of Morgan Stanley’s earnings? Well, to earn close to $5.02 per year from a bank, you’d have to deposit about $555 in a savings account today, so about 110x the desired earnings. At Morgan Stanley’s current share price of roughly $51, we are talking about a P/E multiple of just above 10x. And we think a figure closer to 12x will be appropriate.

That said, Investment Banks are riding on the wave of higher trading volume and growth in underwriting deals, which is a volatile business. Growth looks less promising, and long-term prospects are less than rosy. What’s behind that? 

The economic downturn could cause significant losses for businesses and individuals alike, impacting their loan repayment capability. This could result in sizable losses for Morgan Stanley, as it has a substantial loan portfolio of wealth management loans. The bank generated around 43% of its revenues from the wealth management business in 2019. Further, as the economy slows down, it will likely become expensive for the bank to attract funding, negatively impacting all its operations. We expect the bank’s net income margin to decline from 20.5% in 2019 to 17.7% by FY 2021.

The same trend is visible across Morgan Stanley’s peer – Citigroup. Its revenues are expected to benefit from positive growth in its trading arm and investment banking business in FY2020. However, its margins are likely to suffer due to build-up in provisions for credit losses in anticipation of bad loans. This would explain why Citigroup’s stock currently has a price of just below $53 but looks slated for an EPS of around $6.13 in FY2021.

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