Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-two analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.25.

WBD has been the topic of a number of research reports. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, Director Anton J. Levy bought 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.90 per share, with a total value of $2,725,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 874,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,526,600. This trade represents a 40.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 530,793 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total transaction of $10,350,463.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,141,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,252,425. The trade was a 31.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 970,115 shares of company stock worth $17,818,490 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WBD. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 262,477,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,007,993,000 after acquiring an additional 5,657,524 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,091,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,798,000 after purchasing an additional 551,548 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 44,574,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $510,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233,195 shares during the last quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. increased its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. now owns 29,555,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 2nd quarter worth $306,848,000. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

WBD opened at $17.99 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 12-month low of $7.25 and a 12-month high of $19.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $12.83 and a 200-day moving average of $10.81. The stock has a market cap of $44.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.97, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.59.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.79. Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 2.14% and a net margin of 2.00%.The business had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($4.07) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Bros. Discovery Company Profile

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Studios, Network, and DTC. The Studios segment produces and releases feature films for initial exhibition in theaters; produces and licenses television programs to its networks and third parties and direct-to-consumer services; distributes films and television programs to various third parties and internal television; and offers streaming services and distribution through the home entertainment market, themed experience licensing, and interactive gaming.