The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $286.00.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Madison Square Garden from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Madison Square Garden from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Madison Square Garden from $240.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Madison Square Garden in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Madison Square Garden from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday.

Madison Square Garden Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE MSGS opened at $310.90 on Monday. Madison Square Garden has a fifty-two week low of $173.26 and a fifty-two week high of $345.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $303.39 and a 200-day moving average of $257.04. The stock has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -450.58 and a beta of 0.56.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $403.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $394.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.05 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Madison Square Garden will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles P. Dolan sold 5,659 shares of Madison Square Garden stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.26, for a total value of $1,840,646.34. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141,488.10. The trade was a 92.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 19.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Madison Square Garden

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Madison Square Garden during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Madison Square Garden by 5,450.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Madison Square Garden in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Madison Square Garden by 67.1% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Madison Square Garden by 1,150.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. 68.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Madison Square Garden Company Profile

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp (NYSE: MSGS) is a leading sports and entertainment holding company focused on professional sports franchises and related media assets. The company owns and operates teams such as the NBA’s New York Knicks, the NHL’s New York Rangers and the WNBA’s New York Liberty. Through these flagship franchises, MSG Sports offers a range of products and services including ticketing, premium seating and sponsorship opportunities, targeting fans in the New York metropolitan area and beyond.

In addition to team operations, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp holds a majority stake in MSG Networks, a regional cable network that broadcasts live sporting events, news and original programming.