Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, nineteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $183.05.

LYV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $172.00 to $168.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $198.00 price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Live Nation Entertainment from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th.

Live Nation Entertainment Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of LYV opened at $156.58 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -652.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Live Nation Entertainment has a 1-year low of $112.88 and a 1-year high of $175.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $149.52 and a 200 day moving average of $150.48.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($1.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.00) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 48.11% and a net margin of 1.79%.Live Nation Entertainment’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Live Nation Entertainment will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Live Nation Entertainment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 3.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,269,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the 2nd quarter valued at $941,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 24,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,716,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 33,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,116,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. 74.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Live Nation Entertainment Company Profile

Live Nation Entertainment is a global live entertainment company that promotes, operates and sells tickets for live events. The company’s core activities include concert promotion and production, venue operations and management, ticketing services through its Ticketmaster platform, artist management and development, and sponsorship and advertising services tied to live events. These integrated businesses are designed to connect artists, fans and commercial partners across the live event ecosystem.

The company in its current form was created following the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, combining a promoter and venue operator with one of the industry’s largest ticketing platforms.