Short Interest in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Grows By 24.0%

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 7,738,641 shares, a growth of 24.0% from the January 29th total of 6,241,708 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,787,877 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,787,877 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Warner Music Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMG. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of 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 during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 43.3% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 641,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,679,000 after purchasing an additional 193,721 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position 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 worth $21,660,000 after buying an additional 153,761 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth about $307,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Warner Music Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. UBS Group set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Bank of America dropped 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. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Warner Music Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.69.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG opened at $28.42 on Wednesday. Warner Music Group has a 12-month low of $25.56 and a 12-month high of $34.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $29.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.30. The firm has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.00, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.24.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 38.33% and a net margin of 4.43%.The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 131.03%.

Warner Music Group Company Profile

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.