Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) Given “Buy” Rating at BTIG Research

BTIG Research reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $215.00 target price on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Benchmark boosted their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $199.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Thursday, October 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $181.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Live Nation Entertainment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Live Nation Entertainment has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.14.

Live Nation Entertainment Price Performance

NYSE LYV opened at $170.97 on Monday. Live Nation Entertainment has a fifty-two week low of $125.34 and a fifty-two week high of $189.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $174.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.65. The firm has a market cap of $40.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -151.30 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.56 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 54.61% and a net margin of 0.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Live Nation Entertainment will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Live Nation Entertainment

In related news, CAO Brian Capo sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $533,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,655 shares in the company, valued at $1,592,520. This represents a 25.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYV. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,095,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,692,151,000 after acquiring an additional 367,624 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Live Nation Entertainment during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,221,398,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Live Nation Entertainment during the 2nd quarter valued at $859,018,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,319,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,690,000 after purchasing an additional 475,373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,393,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,502,000 after purchasing an additional 143,432 shares during the last quarter. 74.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc is a global live entertainment company that promotes, produces and operates concerts, music festivals and other live events. Through its Live Nation Concerts business, the company works with artists and manages event production, marketing and venue operations across a broad range of musical genres.

The company also operates Ticketmaster, a ticketing platform that provides ticket sales, distribution and related services for concerts, sports events, performing arts programs and other live entertainment.