Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Issues Earnings Results

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) released its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 128.86% and a net margin of 7.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG traded down $1.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.44. 1,598,276 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,547,392. The stock has a market cap of $16.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.60, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.50. Warner Music Group has a twelve month low of $23.62 and a twelve month high of $38.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $33.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.11.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WMG shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Warner Music Group in a report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised Warner Music Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $17.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Warner Music Group from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.18.

About Warner Music Group

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.