Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Coverage Initiated at Moffett Nathanson

Moffett Nathanson assumed coverage on shares of Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Moffett Nathanson’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 27.35% from the stock’s current price.

WMG has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.06.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of WMG stock opened at $29.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $15.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.63, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.77. Warner Music Group has a 52 week low of $25.56 and a 52 week high of $36.64.

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

Institutional Trading of Warner Music Group

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

About Warner Music Group

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.