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

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.7692.

Several analysts have weighed in on WMG shares. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Warner Music Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Warner Music Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

WMG stock opened at $28.21 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.30 and a 200-day moving average of $28.37. Warner Music Group has a 12-month low of $23.34 and a 12-month high of $35.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. The company has a market cap of $14.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.30.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.17. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 85.50% and a net margin of 9.20%.The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.03) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Warner Music Group will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Warner Music Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is currently 63.49%.

Institutional Trading of Warner Music Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Warner Music Group by 774.6% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Warner Music Group by 480.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 355.7% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Warner Music Group

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.