Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.9130.

WBD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays set a $20.00 target price on Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $10.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bruce Campbell sold 289,322 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.48, for a total transaction of $4,768,026.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 402,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,632,606.72. This represents a 41.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 530,793 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $22,252,425. This trade represents a 31.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,192,325 shares of company stock worth $22,818,215. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 34.9% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 7,035,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,495,000 after purchasing an additional 1,820,249 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC lifted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 156,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after buying an additional 15,786 shares in the last quarter. Country Club Bank grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 54.3% during the 2nd quarter. Country Club Bank now owns 502,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,683,000 after buying an additional 176,994 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter worth $4,089,000. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.3% in the second quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 878,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,069,000 after acquiring an additional 36,100 shares during the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ WBD opened at $22.42 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $55.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.73. Warner Bros. Discovery has a one year low of $7.52 and a one year high of $23.06.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $9.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.17 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 2.14%. Warner Bros. Discovery’s quarterly revenue was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.05 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

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.