Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WMG. Guggenheim increased their price target on Warner Music Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on Warner Music Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Warner Music Group from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.38.

Warner Music Group Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of WMG opened at $33.60 on Monday. Warner Music Group has a 1 year low of $23.34 and a 1 year high of $34.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.00. The stock has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a PE ratio of 39.53, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.25.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.14. The business 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%.Warner Music Group’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Warner Music Group will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 89.5% in the 1st quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 44,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 20,793 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 274.5% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 4,202 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 130,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,327,000 after purchasing an additional 16,504 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 43.8% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 570,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,570,000 after purchasing an additional 173,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,275,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,580,000 after purchasing an additional 16,295 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by 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.