Live Nation Entertainment's (LYV) Buy Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $178.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark's target price suggests a potential upside of 41.49% from the company's previous close.

LYV has been the topic of several other reports. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $152.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $149.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Live Nation Entertainment from $146.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Live Nation Entertainment from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.33.

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Live Nation Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LYV traded down $8.85 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $125.80. The company had a trading volume of 3,395,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,238,679. The firm's fifty day moving average is $137.82 and its 200 day moving average is $129.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.36 billion, a PE ratio of 46.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.38. Live Nation Entertainment has a twelve month low of $86.81 and a twelve month high of $157.75.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.93) by $1.49. Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 139.09% and a net margin of 3.90%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.67 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Live Nation Entertainment will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Live Nation Entertainment

In related news, EVP Michael Rowles sold 63,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.40, for a total value of $9,811,334.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 195,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,356,768.40. The trade was a 24.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Brian Capo sold 5,066 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.24, for a total value of $624,333.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 10,549 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,058.76. This represents a 32.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 68,702 shares of company stock valued at $10,497,143. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Live Nation Entertainment

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 207.6% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 4,693,986 shares of the company's stock valued at $607,871,000 after purchasing an additional 3,168,210 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in Live Nation Entertainment during the fourth quarter valued at about $259,000,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth about $255,955,000. ValueAct Holdings L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the 3rd quarter worth about $111,094,000. Finally, PointState Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $102,762,000. 74.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc operates as a live entertainment company worldwide. It operates through Concerts, Ticketing, and Sponsorship & Advertising segments. The Concerts segment promotes live music events in its owned or operated venues, and in rented third-party venues. This segment operates and manages music venues; produces music festivals; creates and streams associated content; and offers management and other services to artists.