Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Rating Increased to Sector Outperform at Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WMG. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Warner Music Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.69.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 3.2%

NASDAQ:WMG opened at $29.45 on Friday. Warner Music Group has a 52 week low of $25.56 and a 52 week high of $36.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.30.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.07). Warner Music Group had a net margin of 4.43% and a return on equity of 38.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Warner Music Group’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is presently 131.03%.

Institutional Trading of Warner Music Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMG. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 120.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 57.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Warner Music Group by 85.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Warner Music Group by 774.6% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. 96.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.