Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Receives $36.88 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.88.

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Loop Capital raised their target price on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Warner Music Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG opened at $34.14 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.68 billion, a PE ratio of 38.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.50, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Warner Music Group has a 12 month low of $23.62 and a 12 month high of $38.05.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 128.86%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Warner Music Group will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is 77.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Music Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMG. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new position in Warner Music Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the third quarter worth $75,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 627.6% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,006 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

About Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group Corp. operates as a music entertainment company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through Recorded Music and Music Publishing segments. The Recorded Music segment is involved in the discovery and development of recording artists, as well as related marketing, promotion, distribution, sale, and licensing of music created by such recording artists; markets its music catalog through compilations and reissuances of previously released music and video titles, as well as previously unreleased materials; and conducts its operation primarily through a collection of record labels, such as Warner Records and Atlantic Records, as well as Asylum, Big Beat, Canvasback, East West, Erato, FFRR, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Roadrunner, Sire, Spinnin' Records, Warner Classics, and Warner Music Nashville.