TKO Group (NYSE:TKO) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:TKO) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $216.14 and last traded at $211.8280, with a volume of 1190800 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $210.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TKO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Arete Research upgraded TKO Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of TKO Group in a report on Monday. Guggenheim increased their price target on TKO Group from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of TKO Group in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of TKO Group from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, TKO Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.67.

TKO Group Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $190.33 and a 200-day moving average of $184.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.16 and a beta of 0.65.

TKO Group (NYSE:TKO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.11). TKO Group had a net margin of 5.27% and a return on equity of 2.57%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 27.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that TKO Group Holdings, Inc. will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TKO Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from TKO Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. TKO Group’s payout ratio is 119.54%.

TKO Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, September 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other TKO Group news, Director Nick Khan sold 9,519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.16, for a total value of $1,857,728.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 108,985 shares in the company, valued at $21,269,512.60. This represents a 8.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shane Kapral sold 254 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $52,435.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $261,353.04. This trade represents a 16.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,827 shares of company stock valued at $5,777,565. 61.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TKO Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TKO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in TKO Group by 242.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,496,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,675,000 after buying an additional 1,059,636 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in TKO Group by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,249,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,060,106,000 after acquiring an additional 887,401 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of TKO Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $132,441,000. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its holdings in shares of TKO Group by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,850,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $882,459,000 after acquiring an additional 611,233 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new position in shares of TKO Group in the 2nd quarter worth $82,056,000. 89.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About TKO Group

TKO Group Holdings, Inc operates as a sports and entertainment company. The company produces and licenses live events, television programs, and long-form and short-form content, reality series, and other filmed entertainment on digital and linear channels and via pay-per-view. It is involved in the merchandising of video games, apparel, equipment, trading cards, memorabilia, digital goods, and toys, as well as sale of travel packages and tickets.