Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $35.6875.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WMG shares. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 21st. UBS Group set a $33.00 target price on Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Warner Music Group by 284.7% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 3,436 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 43.3% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 641,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,679,000 after purchasing an additional 193,721 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 706,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,660,000 after purchasing an additional 153,761 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $307,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

WMG opened at $28.29 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.86. Warner Music Group has a 1 year low of $25.56 and a 1 year high of $34.94. The stock has a market cap of $14.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.30, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 38.33% and a net margin of 4.43%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 131.03%.

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.