Manchester United (NYSE:MANU) Cut to Strong Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Manchester United (NYSE:MANU) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Manchester United in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Manchester United Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of MANU opened at $15.20 on Friday. Manchester United has a 12-month low of $12.05 and a 12-month high of $19.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.03 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

Manchester United (NYSE:MANU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.10). Manchester United had a negative return on equity of 10.21% and a negative net margin of 6.14%.The firm had revenue of $188.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $191.16 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Manchester United will post -0.74 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manchester United

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Manchester United by 46.7% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 104,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 33,361 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Manchester United during the 1st quarter worth approximately $142,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Manchester United during the 1st quarter worth approximately $196,000. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in Manchester United by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 425,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,576,000 after buying an additional 30,087 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in shares of Manchester United by 28.7% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 287,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,764,000 after acquiring an additional 64,148 shares in the last quarter. 23.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Manchester United

Manchester United plc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates a professional sports team in the United Kingdom. It operates Manchester United Football Club, a professional football club. The company develops marketing and sponsorship relationships with international and regional companies to leverage its brand.