Smead Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD)

Smead Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,017,847 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,805,375 shares during the quarter. Warner Bros. Discovery makes up approximately 2.0% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Smead Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.41% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $114,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 118.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 2,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345 shares during the period. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WBD shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Macquarie lowered their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut Warner Bros. Discovery from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $16.00 to $12.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $7.00 to $10.00 in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.24.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ WBD traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $8.33. 13,049,044 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,609,701. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.02 and a twelve month high of $14.76. The company has a market cap of $20.32 billion, a PE ratio of -6.43 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.07.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by ($0.05). Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 3.48% and a negative net margin of 7.57%. The business had revenue of $10.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Studios, Network, and DTC. The Studios segment produces and releases feature films for initial exhibition in theaters; produces and licenses television programs to its networks and third parties and direct-to-consumer services; distributes films and television programs to various third parties and internal television; and offers streaming services and distribution through the home entertainment market, themed experience licensing, and interactive gaming.