The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $342.20.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Madison Square Garden from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Citigroup upped their target price on Madison Square Garden from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Madison Square Garden from $388.00 to $404.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Madison Square Garden from $240.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Madison Square Garden from $401.00 to $422.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Madison Square Garden

In related news, Director Charles P. Dolan sold 5,659 shares of Madison Square Garden stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.26, for a total value of $1,840,646.34. Following the sale, the director owned 435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,488.10. This trade represents a 92.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 19.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Madison Square Garden

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Madison Square Garden by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 699,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,895,000 after purchasing an additional 282,318 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. acquired a new stake in Madison Square Garden during the 4th quarter worth $55,586,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Madison Square Garden during the 4th quarter worth $51,107,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP boosted its stake in Madison Square Garden by 82.7% during the 4th quarter. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP now owns 329,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,278,000 after purchasing an additional 149,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Madison Square Garden by 182.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 131,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,915,000 after purchasing an additional 84,628 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.94% of the company’s stock.

Madison Square Garden Price Performance

NYSE:MSGS opened at $351.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -377.77 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $326.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $282.47. Madison Square Garden has a 1-year low of $186.00 and a 1-year high of $357.42.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($1.39). The firm had revenue of $432.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $429.66 million. Madison Square Garden’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.59) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Madison Square Garden will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Madison Square Garden Company Profile

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp (NYSE: MSGS) is a leading sports and entertainment holding company focused on professional sports franchises and related media assets. The company owns and operates teams such as the NBA’s New York Knicks, the NHL’s New York Rangers and the WNBA’s New York Liberty. Through these flagship franchises, MSG Sports offers a range of products and services including ticketing, premium seating and sponsorship opportunities, targeting fans in the New York metropolitan area and beyond.

In addition to team operations, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp holds a majority stake in MSG Networks, a regional cable network that broadcasts live sporting events, news and original programming.