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

Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.92.

WMG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 0.3 %

WMG opened at $31.30 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26. The business has a 50 day moving average of $29.20 and a 200-day moving average of $30.98. Warner Music Group has a 1-year low of $27.06 and a 1-year high of $38.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.37.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.02. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 101.32%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Warner Music Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is 72.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Max Lousada sold 64,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $1,809,327.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,909,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,191,171.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 628,205 shares of company stock worth $17,628,757 over the last three months. Insiders own 73.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 74.5% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 953 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 5,790.5% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the first quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $86,000. 96.88% of the stock is currently 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.