Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) released its earnings report for the second quarter of 2013 this morning before the market opened. The company showed earnings per share of $0.45 for the three month period on revenue of $8.32 billion. The company’s shares will open on today’s market at $26.54.
In the run up to the announcement of these results, analysts following Morgan Stanley were looking for earnings per share of 43 cents on revenue totaling $7.89 billion. In the same three months of 2012 the company earned 16 cents per share on revenue of $7 billion.
Morgan Stanley Best In Class
So far in 2013, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has been the best performer among the big banks in the United States. Since January 1 shareholders have seen shares rise by more than 38 percent. Part of the rise is based on the company’s analyst beating results in the the two earnings reports its already announced this year. Investors are also optimistic about the bank’s performance in the coming months.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) also tends to be the analyst favorite among the big banks. Twelve major analysts rate the investment house a Buy while just one analyst sees the stock as a sell right now. Analysts predictions about the current quarter have, however, fallen in the past three months.
The other big banks have for the most part had a good year with Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) all gaining more than 25 percent since the year began. The only laggard in the bunch is Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), which has still managed to add more than 23 percent to shareholder value in 2013.
Federal Reserve Confusion
The impact of the earnings report from Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is sure to be mingled with the reaction from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony on Wednesday. The central banker said that the Federal Reserve is likely to continue its program of quantitative easing if the economy looked like it needed it.
Quantitative easing plays on Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in many different directions, and it is difficult to know the aggregate effect of a change, or lack thereof, of such a monumental program on the company’s earnings. It is likely that the program augments the value of public stock, however. If it were to be removed there might be a depressive effect on the entire market, including stock in Morgan Stanley.
