Written by StockNews.com

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO) early Friday posted much better than expected first quarter earnings results, helped by a big one-time gain, and said its full-year earnings should come in at the high-end of its prior estimate.

The New York City-based ratings agency reported Q1:

• earnings per share (EPS) of $1.47, which was $0.23 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $1.24. Moody’s said its results included a one-time $0.10 per share tax benefit.
• revenues rose 19.5% from last year to $975.2 million, also easily beating analysts’ view for $914.27 million.

Looking ahead, MCO said:

• its full-year EPS results will be in the upper range of its current $5.15 to $5.30 view, excluding a one-time gain. That’s in-line with Wall Street expectations of $5.25 per share for the year.

...[Raymond McDaniel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Moody’s,] commented via press release:

“Moody’s achieved record revenue in the first quarter as Moody’s Investors Service benefited from strong issuance, especially in the leveraged finance markets, and Moody’s Analytics continued to exhibit steady growth."

...Year-to-date, MCO has gained 27.10%, versus a 7.28% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

MCO currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #5 of 66 stocks in the Financial Services (Enterprise) category.