Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Upgraded by Citigroup to "Buy" Rating

Citigroup upgraded shares of Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $42.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $34.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on WMG. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of 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. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.81.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMG traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $35.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,531,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,999,636. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.69. Warner Music Group has a 1-year low of $27.06 and a 1-year high of $36.64. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $31.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.05. The firm has a market cap of $18.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.35.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.11. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 79.01% and a net margin of 8.07%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Warner Music Group will post 1.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.47%.

Insider Transactions at Warner Music Group

In related news, Director Lincoln E. Benet sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.96, for a total value of $1,083,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 242,360 shares in the company, valued at $7,503,465.60. The trade was a 12.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,103 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total transaction of $40,248.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,234,802.01. This represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 72.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMG. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 7,920,342 shares of the company's stock worth $245,531,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400,500 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,613,000. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter valued at $5,545,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth $205,000. 96.88% of the stock is 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.