Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Upgraded at Rothschild & Co Redburn

Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $30.00 target price on the stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Warner Music Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research raised Warner Music Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $34.00 target price (down previously from $35.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.72.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

NASDAQ WMG opened at $31.27 on Tuesday. Warner Music Group has a 12 month low of $25.56 and a 12 month high of $36.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.30 billion, a PE ratio of 35.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.43, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.21). Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 64.64% and a net margin of 7.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.18 earnings per share. Warner Music Group’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is presently 82.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Music Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 122.6% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 101.5% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Warner Music Group during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

About Warner Music Group

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.