Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.67.

Several equities analysts have commented on WMG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Tigress Financial decreased their target price on Warner Music Group from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Music Group

In other news, Director Lincoln E. Benet sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.96, for a total value of $1,083,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 242,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,503,465.60. The trade was a 12.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 73.35% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 379.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,774 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 37.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,754,504 shares of the company's stock worth $274,016,000 after buying an additional 2,370,973 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 23.9% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 424,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,274,000 after buying an additional 81,799 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 239.3% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 45,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,434,000 after buying an additional 32,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,628,263 shares of the company's stock worth $82,284,000 after acquiring an additional 49,166 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 0.9 %

WMG stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,276,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,543,610. The company's fifty day moving average price is $32.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.78. Warner Music Group has a twelve month low of $27.06 and a twelve month high of $38.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 69.29% and a net margin of 6.77%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Warner Music Group will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.75%.

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.