Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Madison Square Garden in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Madison Square Garden from $429.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Seaport Research Partners boosted their target price on shares of Madison Square Garden from $430.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Madison Square Garden from $422.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Madison Square Garden from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $403.00.

Madison Square Garden Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE MSGS opened at $396.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -425.84 and a beta of 0.61. Madison Square Garden has a 12-month low of $188.60 and a 12-month high of $411.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $375.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $329.94.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($1.39). The firm had revenue of $432.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $429.66 million. Madison Square Garden’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.59) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Madison Square Garden will post -0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Madison Square Garden

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Madison Square Garden by 4.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 5,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Madison Square Garden by 8.0% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 27,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,006 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Madison Square Garden by 28.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 24,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,830,000 after acquiring an additional 5,452 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Madison Square Garden during the first quarter worth $210,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Madison Square Garden by 10.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.94% of the company’s stock.

Madison Square Garden Company Profile

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp (NYSE: MSGS) is a leading sports and entertainment holding company focused on professional sports franchises and related media assets. The company owns and operates teams such as the NBA’s New York Knicks, the NHL’s New York Rangers and the WNBA’s New York Liberty. Through these flagship franchises, MSG Sports offers a range of products and services including ticketing, premium seating and sponsorship opportunities, targeting fans in the New York metropolitan area and beyond.

In addition to team operations, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp holds a majority stake in MSG Networks, a regional cable network that broadcasts live sporting events, news and original programming.