Warner Music Group Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:WMG)

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders bought 18,395 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 4,629% compared to the typical daily volume of 389 put options.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

NASDAQ WMG traded down $0.85 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $27.32. 199,161 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,409,606. The company has a market capitalization of $14.25 billion, a PE ratio of 32.14, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Warner Music Group has a 52-week low of $23.34 and a 52-week high of $35.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $30.59 and its 200-day moving average is $29.18.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 62.01%. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Warner Music Group will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $39.00 price target on Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research raised Warner Music Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Warner Music Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.38.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMG. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 774.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 480.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 355.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 740.0% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,665 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.