Starz Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ:STRZ) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Starz Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ:STRZ) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.71.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Starz Entertainment in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Starz Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on Starz Entertainment in a report on Monday, September 14th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $30.00 price target on Starz Entertainment in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Starz Entertainment in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock.

Starz Entertainment Stock Up 0.7%

STRZ stock opened at $23.18 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $25.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.34. Starz Entertainment has a 12 month low of $8.40 and a 12 month high of $32.58. The company has a market cap of $396.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.91 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Starz Entertainment (NASDAQ:STRZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported ($11.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.59) by ($10.68). The business had revenue of $307.90 million for the quarter. Starz Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 25.64% and a negative net margin of 33.98%. Sell-side analysts expect that Starz Entertainment will post -6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Hirsch purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.80 per share, for a total transaction of $248,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,000. The trade was a 18.18% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider James Kapenstein purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.73 per share, with a total value of $25,730.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 12,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $316,530.46. This represents a 8.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 22.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Starz Entertainment

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of STRZ. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Starz Entertainment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,599,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starz Entertainment in the second quarter worth approximately $13,911,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Starz Entertainment in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,826,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Starz Entertainment in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,018,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Starz Entertainment during the second quarter worth approximately $8,027,000.

About Starz Entertainment

Starz Entertainment (NASDAQ: STRZ) is a media and entertainment company focused on premium television and streaming content. Its flagship STARZ service offers original series, feature films and other entertainment programming through pay-TV distribution and direct-to-consumer streaming platforms.

The company’s programming includes scripted dramas, comedies, action series and movies, with content available through the STARZ cable network, the STARZ streaming application and participating digital, satellite and telecommunications providers.