Atlanta Braves (NASDAQ:BATRA) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Atlanta Braves (NASDAQ:BATRA) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Atlanta Braves in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.50.

Atlanta Braves Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ BATRA opened at $42.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,073.48 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. Atlanta Braves has a 1 year low of $38.67 and a 1 year high of $50.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.33.

Atlanta Braves (NASDAQ:BATRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.23. Atlanta Braves had a negative return on equity of 0.19% and a negative net margin of 0.14%.The company had revenue of $311.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.06 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atlanta Braves will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Atlanta Braves

In related news, major shareholder John C. Malone acquired 4,631 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $41.99 per share, with a total value of $194,455.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 484,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,348,479.97. This trade represents a 0.96% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders acquired 38,669 shares of company stock valued at $1,623,140. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atlanta Braves

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Atlanta Braves by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 685,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,172,000 after acquiring an additional 85,853 shares in the last quarter. HRT Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Atlanta Braves by 600.4% during the second quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 48,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,395,000 after purchasing an additional 41,729 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atlanta Braves by 4.5% in the third quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 864,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,300,000 after purchasing an additional 36,995 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Atlanta Braves in the second quarter valued at $1,516,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Atlanta Braves by 261.9% during the 3rd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 41,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,905,000 after purchasing an additional 30,317 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.31% of the company’s stock.

Atlanta Braves Company Profile

The Atlanta Braves (NASDAQ: BATRA) are a professional baseball club that competes in Major League Baseball’s National League East division. Founded in 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings, the franchise relocated to Milwaukee in 1953 before settling in Atlanta in 1966. As one of MLB’s oldest and most storied organizations, the Braves are responsible for fielding a Major League team, overseeing player development through a network of minor league affiliates, and managing baseball operations under the leadership of President of Baseball Operations Alex Anthopoulos.

Beyond on‐field performance, the Braves operate a diversified sports and entertainment business.