Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Price Target Lowered to $40.00 at Citigroup

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) had its price objective lowered by Citigroup from $41.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Warner Music Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. UBS Group set a $33.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.88.

Warner Music Group Trading Down 0.1%

Warner Music Group stock opened at $29.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.25. Warner Music Group has a 1 year low of $25.56 and a 1 year high of $36.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.77, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 47.78%. Warner Music Group’s revenue was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.08 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMG. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 120.1% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 57.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Warner Music Group by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Warner Music Group by 774.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 480.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Warner Music Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Insiders bought stock recently — WMG’s CFO Armin Zerza and major shareholder Valentin Blavatnik each purchased ~35.8k shares, signaling insider confidence and providing natural bid support. Insider purchases and corporate data
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell ~24.1%, reducing bearish positioning and short-covering risk — this can help limit downside and support share-price stability. Short Interest Drops
• Positive Sentiment: Major sell-side support remains: Citigroup kept a Buy rating and set a $40 target (slightly trimmed from $41), indicating continued analyst bullishness and ~30% upside to recent levels. That supports positive sentiment despite the target cut. Citigroup rating and target
• Positive Sentiment: WMG hired Hannah Karp (former Billboard Editor-in-Chief) as EVP & Chief Communications Officer — a high-profile communications hire that can help investor relations and public positioning. Hannah Karp appointment
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays maintains a Hold on WMG — suggests mixed views within the sell‑side and moderates upside expectations from some investors. Barclays hold rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Proxy filing shows CEO Robert Kyncl’s estimated 2025 pay down ~17% vs. 2024 — governance detail investors watch, but the change itself is unlikely to move the stock materially. CEO pay disclosure
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage on Warner’s cutbacks raises execution and morale concerns — cost cutting can boost margins but also signal revenue pressures or restructuring risks, which may weigh on sentiment until results or clarity arrive. Coverage of cost-cutting

Warner Music Group Company Profile

Warner Music Group is a major global music company that operates across recorded music and music publishing. Its recorded-music business comprises a portfolio of well-known labels—including Atlantic, Warner Records and Parlophone—as well as distribution and artist-services operations that support both established and emerging artists. The company’s publishing arm, Warner Chappell Music, manages songwriting catalogs and administers rights for compositions across multiple media, providing licensing for film, television, advertising and other commercial uses.

WMG’s activities span the full music value chain: signing and developing artists, producing and marketing recordings, distributing music through physical channels and streaming platforms, and monetizing rights through licensing, synchronization and neighboring-rights collection.