Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.88.

Several brokerages recently commented on WMG. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $17.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Warner Music Group from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMG. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,664,000. Hahn Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth about $4,863,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 1,711.7% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 903,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,362,000 after purchasing an additional 853,384 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 801,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,178,000 after buying an additional 193,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DigitalBridge Group Inc. increased its position in Warner Music Group by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 479,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,068,000 after buying an additional 151,778 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMG opened at $34.14 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.80, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.50. Warner Music Group has a 52-week low of $23.62 and a 52-week high of $38.05.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.13). Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 128.86% and a net margin of 7.42%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Warner Music Group will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is presently 77.27%.

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.