Benchmark Reaffirms "Buy" Rating for Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV)

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV - Free Report) in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $160.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on LYV. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $120.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $146.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Live Nation Entertainment from $125.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $148.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price target on Live Nation Entertainment from $130.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.00.

Live Nation Entertainment Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LYV traded up $5.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $154.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,633,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,000,705. Live Nation Entertainment has a 12 month low of $86.81 and a 12 month high of $157.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.92 billion, a PE ratio of 56.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.10. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $139.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.75.

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

Institutional Trading of Live Nation Entertainment

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LYV. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 207.6% in the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 4,693,986 shares of the company's stock worth $607,871,000 after acquiring an additional 3,168,210 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in Live Nation Entertainment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $259,000,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth $255,955,000. ValueAct Holdings L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $111,094,000. Finally, PointState Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the 3rd quarter valued at $102,762,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.52% of the company's stock.

Live Nation Entertainment Company Profile

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.