Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Short Interest Update

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,010,000 shares, an increase of 32.8% from the December 31st total of 6,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,640,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Warner Music Group news, Director Lincoln E. Benet sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 242,360 shares in the company, valued at $7,503,465.60. This represents a 12.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 72.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 9,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,235 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 379.5% during the 4th 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. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter worth $73,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,705 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of WMG stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $32.23. 865,750 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,853,671. Warner Music Group has a 1 year low of $27.06 and a 1 year high of $38.05. The stock has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $31.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.75.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.20). Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 69.29% and a net margin of 6.77%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. Warner Music Group's revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Warner Music Group will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group's payout ratio is presently 86.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMG. Barclays lowered their price target on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Warner Music Group from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Macquarie reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Warner Music Group from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.31.

About Warner Music Group

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.