Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Stock Has Average Price Target of $38.27 According to Brokerages

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.27.

WMG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Warner Music Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Warner Music Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Warner Music Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 42.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 574,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,666,000 after buying an additional 170,316 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the second quarter valued at $6,199,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Warner Music Group by 1,072.2% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 580,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,717,000 after buying an additional 531,077 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the second quarter valued at $7,217,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in Warner Music Group by 97.8% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 103,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,793,000 after buying an additional 51,017 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Warner Music Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Warner Music Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stonex Financial upgraded WMG to “strong buy,” adding to the favorable analyst outlook. Warner Music Group upgrade report
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerages have a consensus price target of $38.27, implying potential upside from the reported $31.40 share price if estimates are achieved. Warner Music Group consensus target price
• Positive Sentiment: Warner Chappell Music, WMG’s publishing division, signed My Chemical Romance to an exclusive worldwide publishing deal. The agreement expands the company’s catalog and could support future royalty revenue, although financial terms were not disclosed. My Chemical Romance publishing deal
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock was a high-volume mover in the latest session, indicating strong investor interest, but the durability of the rally remains uncertain. Warner Music Group stock momentum analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cautioned that the latest trend in earnings-estimate revisions may not support continued near-term gains, creating a potential headwind for WMG after its recent advance. Warner Music Group earnings estimate revisions

Warner Music Group Price Performance

WMG stock opened at $31.40 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.64. The company has a market capitalization of $16.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Warner Music Group has a 12 month low of $23.34 and a 12 month high of $35.42.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 85.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.03) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Warner Music Group will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from Warner Music Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 20th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is 63.49%.

About Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group Corp. is a global music entertainment company that develops, records, distributes and promotes music. Its recorded-music operations work with artists across a range of genres and release music through labels including Atlantic Records, Warner Records, Elektra Music Group and Parlophone. The company distributes music through streaming platforms, digital services, physical formats and other channels.

Warner Music Group also operates Warner Chappell Music, one of the world’s major music publishing companies.