Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Guggenheim Analyst Says

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Guggenheim from $401.00 to $422.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 20.96% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Madison Square Garden from $388.00 to $404.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Madison Square Garden from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of Madison Square Garden from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $430.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Madison Square Garden from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Madison Square Garden from $240.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Madison Square Garden has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $342.20.

Madison Square Garden Price Performance

MSGS opened at $348.87 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $325.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.99. The company has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -375.12 and a beta of 0.59. Madison Square Garden has a 1-year low of $186.00 and a 1-year high of $357.42.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($1.39). The company had revenue of $432.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $429.66 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.59) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Madison Square Garden will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles P. Dolan sold 5,659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.26, for a total transaction of $1,840,646.34. Following the sale, the director owned 435 shares in the company, valued at $141,488.10. The trade was a 92.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 19.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Madison Square Garden

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Madison Square Garden by 45.9% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 172,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,281,000 after purchasing an additional 54,100 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Madison Square Garden by 36.9% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 8,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,802,000 after buying an additional 2,352 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Madison Square Garden by 24.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 16,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,224,000 after buying an additional 3,171 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Madison Square Garden by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $800,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Madison Square Garden by 5,609.4% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 30,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,799,000 after acquiring an additional 29,954 shares during the period. 68.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Madison Square Garden

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.