Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Upgraded by Scotiabank to Sector Outperform Rating

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) was upgraded by investment analysts at Scotiabank from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $84.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $66.00. Scotiabank’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 194.22% from the stock’s current price.

WMG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.53.

Warner Music Group Trading Down 4.1%

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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.05. The company has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.24.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 38.33% and a net margin of 4.43%.Warner Music Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.