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

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $34.8750.

WMG has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Warner Music Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price objective on Warner Music Group and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Warner Music Group from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Monday.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 5.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG opened at $28.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.11 billion, a PE ratio of 50.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.46. Warner Music Group has a 1 year low of $25.56 and a 1 year high of $36.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 39.95% and a net margin of 4.59%.Warner Music Group’s revenue was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is 108.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Music Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMG. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 23.5% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Financial Services boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 9,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 34,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 29,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

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.