Warner Music Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:WMG)

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 10,032 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 2,758% compared to the average daily volume of 351 put options.

Warner Music Group Trading Up 3.8 %

NASDAQ:WMG opened at $35.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.50, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.70. Warner Music Group has a 52 week low of $23.62 and a 52 week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.13). Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 128.86% and a net margin of 7.42%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Warner Music Group will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,664,000. Hahn Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,863,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 1,711.7% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 903,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,362,000 after buying an additional 853,384 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 801,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,178,000 after acquiring an additional 193,221 shares during the period. Finally, DigitalBridge Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 46.3% during the 3rd quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 479,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,068,000 after acquiring an additional 151,778 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMG. Redburn Atlantic raised Warner Music Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. Loop Capital upped 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. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.18.

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.