Guggenheim Cuts Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Price Target to $34.00

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) had its target price decreased by Guggenheim from $37.00 to $34.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock.

WMG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Warner Music Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.53.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ WMG opened at $26.11 on Tuesday. Warner Music Group has a 12 month low of $23.34 and a 12 month high of $34.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.02, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.69 and a 200-day moving average of $29.77.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 38.33% and a net margin of 4.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is 131.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Music Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMG. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Warner Music Group by 120.1% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 57.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 85.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 774.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Warner Music Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Warner agreed to acquire Revelator, a technology-forward B2B platform serving independent labels and distributors; the transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to close next quarter — a deal that could add recurring label-services revenue and scale WMG’s indie distribution capabilities. WARREN MUSIC GROUP AGREES TO ACQUIRE REVELATOR (PRNewswire)
• Positive Sentiment: Industry coverage highlights executive commentary that the acquisition will “turbocharge” WMG’s joint mission with independent partners — investors may view this as validation that Revelator’s tech, data and client base can accelerate revenue growth and label‑services margins. Warner Music Buys Distributor Revelator In Bid to Capitalize on Indie Market (Hollywood Reporter)
• Neutral Sentiment: Profiles and company pages are updating coverage of WMG’s leadership and strategy as the deal draws attention; useful for background but unlikely to move the stock by itself. Warner Music Group Corp. (Barron’s company page)
• Negative Sentiment: Guggenheim lowered its price target on WMG to $34, signaling analyst caution; while the target remains above current levels, the cut could damp investor enthusiasm and act as a short-term headwind. Guggenheim Lowers Warner Music Group Price Target to $34.00

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.