iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $4.50.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on IHRT shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of iHeartMedia from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on iHeartMedia from $1.25 to $4.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th.

iHeartMedia Stock Performance

Shares of iHeartMedia stock opened at $4.40 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $660.70 million, a PE ratio of -1.70 and a beta of 1.69. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.74. iHeartMedia has a 52-week low of $0.95 and a 52-week high of $5.44.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.64. iHeartMedia had a negative net margin of 10.37% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The company had revenue of $997.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that iHeartMedia will post -0.13 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iHeartMedia

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in iHeartMedia during the third quarter worth $25,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 5,591 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of iHeartMedia during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of iHeartMedia by 341.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 24,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18,831 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in iHeartMedia by 757.0% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 15,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 14,065 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.89% of the company’s stock.

iHeartMedia Company Profile

iHeartMedia, Inc (NASDAQ: IHRT) is a leading media and entertainment company specializing in radio broadcasting, digital streaming and live events. The company operates more than 860 full-power AM and FM radio stations across the United States, delivering music, news, sports and talk programming to local markets. Through its flagship digital platform, iHeartRadio, the company provides listeners with free and subscription-based access to thousands of live radio stations, curated music playlists and on-demand podcasts.

Originally founded in 1972 as Clear Channel Communications, the business rebranded to iHeartMedia in 2014 to reflect the growing importance of its digital and event-driven offerings.