Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.67.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WMG shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Tigress Financial decreased their target price on Warner Music Group from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMG. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Warner Music Group by 74.5% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners bought a new stake in Warner Music Group in the third quarter valued at $30,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 5,790.5% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 9,400.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $73,000. Institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Warner Music Group stock opened at $31.94 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.68. Warner Music Group has a fifty-two week low of $27.06 and a fifty-two week high of $38.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $32.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.63. The company has a market capitalization of $16.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.48, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 69.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.75%.

About Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group Corp. operates as a music entertainment company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through Recorded Music and Music Publishing segments. The Recorded Music segment is involved in the discovery and development of recording artists, as well as related marketing, promotion, distribution, sale, and licensing of music created by such recording artists; markets its music catalog through compilations and reissuances of previously released music and video titles, as well as previously unreleased materials; and conducts its operation primarily through a collection of record labels, such as Warner Records and Atlantic Records, as well as Asylum, Big Beat, Canvasback, East West, Erato, FFRR, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Roadrunner, Sire, Spinnin’ Records, Warner Classics, and Warner Music Nashville.