Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Given New $34.00 Price Target at Guggenheim

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Guggenheim from $37.00 to $34.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s price target points to a potential upside of 38.53% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on WMG. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Warner Music Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.53.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 1.8%

WMG opened at $24.54 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.88. Warner Music Group has a 1-year low of $23.34 and a 1-year high of $34.63. The stock has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a PE ratio of 41.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.30.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 4.43% and a return on equity of 38.33%. 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 firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 34,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 3,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its stake in Warner Music Group by 2.8% in the third quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 16,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $554,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Company Profile

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.