Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.8235.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WMG shares. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

WMG opened at $33.85 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $17.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.39, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.60 and a 200 day moving average of $30.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.66. Warner Music Group has a fifty-two week low of $25.56 and a fifty-two week high of $36.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 39.95%. Warner Music Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This is a positive change from Warner Music Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMG. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 85.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 480.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of 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, CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 528.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.