Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Stock Rating Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WMG. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Monday, September 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Warner Music Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.33.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG opened at $26.82 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. Warner Music Group has a 1-year low of $23.34 and a 1-year high of $35.42. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.39 and its 200-day moving average is $28.30.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 85.50% and a net margin of 9.20%.Warner Music Group’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.03) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Warner Music Group will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 20th. This is a boost from Warner Music Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 148.1% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new position in Warner Music Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $73,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Warner Music Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $107,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 284.7% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 3,436 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Company Profile

Warner Music Group Corp. is a global music entertainment company that operates through two primary businesses: recorded music and music publishing. Its recorded-music operations discover, develop, market and distribute music from artists and songwriters through labels including Warner Records, Atlantic Records and Parlophone, as well as a range of regional and specialty labels.

The company’s music publishing division, Warner Chappell Music, manages copyrights and licenses compositions for use in recordings, films, television, advertising, video games and other media.