Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Raised to “Sector Outperform” at Scotiabank

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) was upgraded by Scotiabank from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $84.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $66.00. Scotiabank’s price target indicates a potential upside of 194.22% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WMG. Zacks Research upgraded Warner Music Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Moffett Nathanson started coverage on Warner Music Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.53.

Warner Music Group Trading Down 4.1%

WMG stock opened at $28.55 on Friday. Warner Music Group has a 52 week low of $25.56 and a 52 week high of $36.64. The company has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a PE ratio of 49.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.30, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.70.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Warner Music Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 120.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings 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 period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Warner Music Group by 774.6% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 480.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Warner Music Group

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.