Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Receives $35.69 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.6875.

WMG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Warner Music Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Moffett Nathanson began coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Monday, December 15th.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:WMG opened at $28.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.30. Warner Music Group has a 52 week low of $25.56 and a 52 week high of $36.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $29.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a PE ratio of 49.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.24.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.07). Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 38.33% and a net margin of 4.43%.The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 131.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMG. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 120.1% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Warner Music Group by 57.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 774.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 480.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

About Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group is a major global music company that operates across recorded music and music publishing. Its recorded-music business comprises a portfolio of well-known labels—including Atlantic, Warner Records and Parlophone—as well as distribution and artist-services operations that support both established and emerging artists. The company’s publishing arm, Warner Chappell Music, manages songwriting catalogs and administers rights for compositions across multiple media, providing licensing for film, television, advertising and other commercial uses.

WMG’s activities span the full music value chain: signing and developing artists, producing and marketing recordings, distributing music through physical channels and streaming platforms, and monetizing rights through licensing, synchronization and neighboring-rights collection.