Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-four ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $184.6667.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Live Nation Entertainment from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $198.00 price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 20th.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Performance

LYV stock opened at $152.62 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $153.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.91. Live Nation Entertainment has a fifty-two week low of $113.20 and a fifty-two week high of $175.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.84 billion, a PE ratio of -635.93 and a beta of 1.11.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($1.06) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.00) by ($0.06). Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 48.11%. The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Live Nation Entertainment will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Live Nation Entertainment news, Director Jeffrey T. Hinson sold 944 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total value of $156,581.28. Following the transaction, the director owned 48,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,966,736.10. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Live Nation Entertainment

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,725,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,589,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,763,511 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the third quarter valued at about $1,606,000. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 51.1% during the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 11,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,820,000 after buying an additional 3,767 shares during the period. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. bought a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the third quarter worth about $1,191,000. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in Live Nation Entertainment in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,015,000. 74.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Live Nation Entertainment Company Profile

Live Nation Entertainment is a global live entertainment company that promotes, operates and sells tickets for live events. The company’s core activities include concert promotion and production, venue operations and management, ticketing services through its Ticketmaster platform, artist management and development, and sponsorship and advertising services tied to live events. These integrated businesses are designed to connect artists, fans and commercial partners across the live event ecosystem.

The company in its current form was created following the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, combining a promoter and venue operator with one of the industry’s largest ticketing platforms.