TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:TKO) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:TKO) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 10,223,670 shares, an increase of 61.7% from the February 26th total of 6,321,729 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,396,973 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.3 days. Currently, 11.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

TKO Group Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE:TKO traded down $3.50 on Friday, reaching $189.14. 1,541,615 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,260,510. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. TKO Group has a 1-year low of $133.07 and a 1-year high of $226.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $204.83 and its 200-day moving average is $199.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.06 and a beta of 0.66.

TKO Group (NYSE:TKO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.20). TKO Group had a return on equity of 2.07% and a net margin of 4.13%.The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that TKO Group will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TKO Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. TKO Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 138.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on TKO. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of TKO Group from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of TKO Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of TKO Group in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on TKO Group from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on TKO Group from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Shane Kapral sold 254 shares of TKO Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.15, for a total transaction of $50,584.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 99 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,715.85. This trade represents a 71.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Seth D. Krauss sold 2,271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.71, for a total value of $455,812.41. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 169,055 shares of company stock worth $34,535,105. Corporate insiders own 61.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TKO Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TKO. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in TKO Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of TKO Group by 1,360.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TKO Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in shares of TKO Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of TKO Group in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 89.79% of the company’s stock.

About TKO Group

TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO) is a global sports and entertainment company formed in 2023 through the combination of two major combat-sports businesses. The company brings together the mixed martial arts organization UFC and the sports entertainment business WWE under a single publicly traded holding company. TKO owns and manages a portfolio of live-event franchises, intellectual property, and media rights centered on combat and sports-entertainment content.

TKO’s core activities include the promotion and production of live events, the licensing and sale of broadcasting and streaming rights, and the development and commercialization of branded consumer products.