Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Scotiabank upgraded Warner Music Group from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Moffett Nathanson began coverage on Warner Music Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.38.

Warner Music Group Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ WMG opened at $33.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.25. Warner Music Group has a 1-year low of $23.34 and a 1-year high of $34.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.00.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 62.01% and a net margin of 6.34%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.07 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Warner Music Group will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 120.1% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 774.6% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 480.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 355.7% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Company Profile

Warner Music Group is a major global music company that operates across recorded music and music publishing. Its recorded-music business comprises a portfolio of well-known labels—including Atlantic, Warner Records and Parlophone—as well as distribution and artist-services operations that support both established and emerging artists. The company’s publishing arm, Warner Chappell Music, manages songwriting catalogs and administers rights for compositions across multiple media, providing licensing for film, television, advertising and other commercial uses.

WMG’s activities span the full music value chain: signing and developing artists, producing and marketing recordings, distributing music through physical channels and streaming platforms, and monetizing rights through licensing, synchronization and neighboring-rights collection.