Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $246.38, but opened at $252.93. Madison Square Garden shares last traded at $253.2450, with a volume of 670 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Madison Square Garden from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Madison Square Garden from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Madison Square Garden from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Madison Square Garden in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Madison Square Garden from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $261.33.

Madison Square Garden Trading Down 0.6%

The firm has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -255.87 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $224.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.19.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.04) by $0.67. The company had revenue of $39.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.41 million. Madison Square Garden had a negative net margin of 2.31% and a negative return on equity of 1.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.31) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Madison Square Garden Company will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Madison Square Garden

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in Madison Square Garden by 2.7% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 1,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Madison Square Garden by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 11,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,701,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of Madison Square Garden by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Madison Square Garden by 1.2% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 4,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Madison Square Garden by 1.7% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.94% of the company’s stock.

About Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp (NYSE: MSGS) is a leading sports and entertainment holding company focused on professional sports franchises and related media assets. The company owns and operates teams such as the NBA’s New York Knicks, the NHL’s New York Rangers and the WNBA’s New York Liberty. Through these flagship franchises, MSG Sports offers a range of products and services including ticketing, premium seating and sponsorship opportunities, targeting fans in the New York metropolitan area and beyond.

In addition to team operations, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp holds a majority stake in MSG Networks, a regional cable network that broadcasts live sporting events, news and original programming.