Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) released its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02), Zacks reports. Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 2.14% and a net margin of 2.00%.The company had revenue of $9.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. Warner Bros. Discovery’s quarterly revenue was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of WBD stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $22.42. 48,531,411 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 48,792,402. The stock has a market cap of $55.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $18.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.26. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 52-week low of $7.52 and a 52-week high of $23.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Insider Activity at Warner Bros. Discovery

In related news, Director Anton J. Levy acquired 250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $10.90 per share, with a total value of $2,725,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 874,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,526,600. This trade represents a 40.06% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruce Campbell sold 289,322 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.48, for a total transaction of $4,768,026.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 402,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,632,606.72. The trade was a 41.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 1,192,325 shares of company stock valued at $22,818,215 in the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WBD. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 304.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 68,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 51,920 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 50.5% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 63,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 21,228 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 3,779 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 91.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 116,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after buying an additional 55,837 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 111,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 4,062 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WBD shares. Moffett Nathanson upped their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Seaport Global Securities upped their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $15.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Barclays set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Rothschild Redb raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.91.

Warner Bros. Discovery Company Profile

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Studios, Network, and DTC. The Studios segment produces and releases feature films for initial exhibition in theaters; produces and licenses television programs to its networks and third parties and direct-to-consumer services; distributes films and television programs to various third parties and internal television; and offers streaming services and distribution through the home entertainment market, themed experience licensing, and interactive gaming.