The Macquarie Group Limited (ASX: MQG) share price had an amazing first quarter to the new financial year.
Starting the 3-month period at $156.43, shares rose 16.3% to end the quarter at $182.00 per share. That incredible growth comes despite the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) having a mediocre quarter – rising only 0.26% in that time.
Let's take a closer look at what's been happening.
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Macquarie Group performed really well
The first story that may have had a material impact on the Macquarie share price in the quarter was the positive brokers note out of Morgans in early August.
As Motley Fool previously reported, Morgans said at the time:
"We still see MQG as relatively inexpensive and continue to like its exposure to long-term structural growth areas such as infrastructure and renewables. Near term, MQG is likely to face earnings pressures from the impact of soft economic conditions but it remains well-positioned to ride out the current COVID-19 period and seize opportunities on the other side."
A pretty mediocre July for the company, from that point, turned into a green August and September. Of course, this is not to say the rise is because of the note, but just to show the growth coincided with the note being released.
The next big story that seemed to have had a positive impact on the Macquarie share price was the release of its second-half forecast for the financial year – the company gaining 6% on the day.
At the time, Macquarie advised it expects 1H FY22 results to be "slightly down on 2H FY21".
The investment bank gave the following reasons for the outlook:
- Competition amongst peers driving down margin pressure;
- Forecasted higher expenses to "support growth and investment";
- Commodity income was also "expected to be down following a strong FY21".
In the medium-term, Macquarie gave a more optimistic outlook. Macquarie believes it remains "well-positioned to deliver superior performance in the medium term". That's a stark contrast to its near term forward estimates at the time.
Macquarie share price snapshot
Over the past 12 months, the Macquarie share price has risen by 41%. Year-to-date, its shares are up 32%. Its 52-week high is $183.71 (hit yesterday) and its 52-week low is $125.56.
Macquarie Group has a market capitalisation of approximately $67 billion.
