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

Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.3750.

A number of analysts have issued reports on WMG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Moffett Nathanson started coverage on Warner Music Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price target on Warner Music Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, May 8th.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

WMG opened at $34.72 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62. The firm has a market cap of $18.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.85, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.25. Warner Music Group has a 52 week low of $23.34 and a 52 week high of $35.42. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.13.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.14. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 62.01% and a net margin of 6.34%.The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.41%.

Institutional Trading of Warner Music Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 5,055.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,860,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824,596 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,418,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the 4th quarter worth about $1,867,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 6,227.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,173,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139,067 shares during the period. Finally, Greenland Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,556,000. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.