Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Short Interest Up 22.8% in January

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 6,415,266 shares, an increase of 22.8% from the December 31st total of 5,223,705 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,970,090 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,970,090 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ WMG opened at $28.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.63, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.50 and a 200 day moving average of $31.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.77. Warner Music Group has a twelve month low of $25.56 and a twelve month high of $36.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 47.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.57%.

Institutional Trading of Warner Music Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 480.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WMG shares. Zacks Research raised Warner Music Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.35.

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.