Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.88.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG opened at $28.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $14.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.14, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Warner Music Group has a 12 month low of $25.56 and a 12 month high of $36.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.45.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.14). Warner Music Group had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 39.95%. The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMG. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $377,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 49.2% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 13,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 4,525 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the first quarter valued at $40,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 170.1% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 2,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the first quarter worth $1,404,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Company Profile

Warner Music Group Corp. operates as a music entertainment company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through Recorded Music and Music Publishing segments. The Recorded Music segment is involved in the discovery and development of recording artists, as well as related marketing, promotion, distribution, sale, and licensing of music created by such recording artists; markets its music catalog through compilations and reissuances of previously released music and video titles, as well as previously unreleased materials; and conducts its operation primarily through a collection of record labels, such as Warner Records and Atlantic Records, as well as Asylum, Big Beat, Canvasback, East West, Erato, FFRR, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Roadrunner, Sire, Spinnin’ Records, Warner Classics, and Warner Music Nashville.