The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $286.00.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSGS. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Madison Square Garden from $290.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wolfe Research cut Madison Square Garden from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Madison Square Garden in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Madison Square Garden in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Madison Square Garden from $240.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th.

Madison Square Garden Stock Performance

Shares of MSGS stock opened at $310.90 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -450.58 and a beta of 0.56. Madison Square Garden has a one year low of $173.26 and a one year high of $345.46. The company’s 50-day moving average is $303.39 and its 200 day moving average is $256.32.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.32). The business had revenue of $403.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.58 million. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.05 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Madison Square Garden will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Madison Square Garden news, Director Charles P. Dolan sold 5,659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.26, for a total value of $1,840,646.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,488.10. The trade was a 92.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 19.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Madison Square Garden

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Madison Square Garden by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 699,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,895,000 after purchasing an additional 282,318 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. bought a new stake in Madison Square Garden in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,586,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Madison Square Garden in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,107,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP raised its stake in Madison Square Garden by 82.7% during the 4th quarter. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP now owns 329,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,278,000 after buying an additional 149,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bollard Group LLC purchased a new stake in Madison Square Garden during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,283,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.94% of the company’s stock.

Madison Square Garden Company Profile

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp (NYSE: MSGS) is a leading sports and entertainment holding company focused on professional sports franchises and related media assets. The company owns and operates teams such as the NBA’s New York Knicks, the NHL’s New York Rangers and the WNBA’s New York Liberty. Through these flagship franchises, MSG Sports offers a range of products and services including ticketing, premium seating and sponsorship opportunities, targeting fans in the New York metropolitan area and beyond.

In addition to team operations, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp holds a majority stake in MSG Networks, a regional cable network that broadcasts live sporting events, news and original programming.