Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $35.40.

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Tigress Financial decreased their price objective on Warner Music Group from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Warner Music Group from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Music Group

In other news, Director Lincoln E. Benet sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.96, for a total value of $1,083,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 242,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,503,465.60. This represents a 12.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 73.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new position in Warner Music Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 74.5% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 953 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 9,400.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 379.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ WMG opened at $29.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $31.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.79. Warner Music Group has a 12-month low of $27.06 and a 12-month high of $38.05. The company has a market capitalization of $15.18 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.20). Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 69.29% and a net margin of 6.77%. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is 86.75%.

Warner Music Group Company Profile

Warner Music Group Corp. operates as a music entertainment company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through Recorded Music and Music Publishing segments. The Recorded Music segment is involved in the discovery and development of recording artists, as well as related marketing, promotion, distribution, sale, and licensing of music created by such recording artists; markets its music catalog through compilations and reissuances of previously released music and video titles, as well as previously unreleased materials; and conducts its operation primarily through a collection of record labels, such as Warner Records and Atlantic Records, as well as Asylum, Big Beat, Canvasback, East West, Erato, FFRR, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Roadrunner, Sire, Spinnin’ Records, Warner Classics, and Warner Music Nashville.