Brokerages Set Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Price Target at $35.69

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.6875.

Several research firms have weighed in on WMG. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Warner Music Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson began coverage on Warner Music Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 77,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,420,000 after acquiring an additional 7,119 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 120.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 7,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 5.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 948,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,743,000 after purchasing an additional 50,035 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 528.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 2.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 301,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,226,000 after purchasing an additional 6,989 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of WMG opened at $30.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.10, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.24. Warner Music Group has a one year low of $25.56 and a one year high of $36.64. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.30, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 4.43% and a return on equity of 38.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is currently 131.03%.

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.