Analysts Set Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Target Price at $35.67

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $35.69.

Several research firms recently commented on WMG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Warner Music Group stock opened at $29.34 on Friday. Warner Music Group has a 52 week low of $27.06 and a 52 week high of $38.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a PE ratio of 35.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is currently 86.75%.

Insider Transactions at Warner Music Group

In other news, Director Lincoln E. Benet sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.96, for a total transaction of $1,083,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 242,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,503,465.60. The trade was a 12.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 73.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Music Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMG. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 9,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 379.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

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.