Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.14 EPS

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.14), Zacks reports. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 39.95%. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.08 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 1.7%

WMG opened at $30.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.66. Warner Music Group has a one year low of $25.56 and a one year high of $36.64. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.46.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WMG shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of Warner Music Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group set a $45.00 price target on Warner Music Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price objective on Warner Music Group and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Warner Music Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.76.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WMG. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 1.1% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 34,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 127.1% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 5,619 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 87.3% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 25,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after acquiring an additional 11,734 shares in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 16.5% during the second quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 56,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,543,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 312.9% during the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 92,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,513,000 after purchasing an additional 69,921 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Company Profile

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.