Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, nineteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $184.40.

LYV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Friday, February 20th. Moffett Nathanson dropped their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded Live Nation Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Live Nation Entertainment from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th.

Live Nation Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of LYV stock opened at $150.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $35.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -625.43 and a beta of 1.11. Live Nation Entertainment has a 12 month low of $113.20 and a 12 month high of $175.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $152.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.70.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($1.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.00) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 48.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Live Nation Entertainment will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Live Nation Entertainment

In other news, Director Jeffrey T. Hinson sold 944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total transaction of $156,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 48,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,966,736.10. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Live Nation Entertainment

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 22.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,725,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,589,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,763,511 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the third quarter worth about $1,606,000. Profund Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 51.1% during the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 11,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,767 shares during the period. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. bought a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,191,000. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,015,000. 74.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment is a global live entertainment company that promotes, operates and sells tickets for live events. The company’s core activities include concert promotion and production, venue operations and management, ticketing services through its Ticketmaster platform, artist management and development, and sponsorship and advertising services tied to live events. These integrated businesses are designed to connect artists, fans and commercial partners across the live event ecosystem.

The company in its current form was created following the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, combining a promoter and venue operator with one of the industry’s largest ticketing platforms.