Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Given New $40.00 Price Target at Guggenheim

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) had its target price decreased by Guggenheim from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s target price suggests a potential upside of 36.52% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on WMG. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.33.

Warner Music Group Trading Down 5.6 %

Shares of Warner Music Group stock opened at $29.30 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35. Warner Music Group has a 12-month low of $27.06 and a 12-month high of $38.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.20). Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 69.29% and a net margin of 6.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Warner Music Group will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lincoln E. Benet sold 35,000 shares of Warner Music Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.96, for a total value of $1,083,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 242,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,503,465.60. The trade was a 12.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 73.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMG. Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the third quarter worth $30,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Warner Music Group by 74.5% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 953 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 9,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 379.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Warner Music Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group Corp. operates as a music entertainment company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through Recorded Music and Music Publishing segments. The Recorded Music segment is involved in the discovery and development of recording artists, as well as related marketing, promotion, distribution, sale, and licensing of music created by such recording artists; markets its music catalog through compilations and reissuances of previously released music and video titles, as well as previously unreleased materials; and conducts its operation primarily through a collection of record labels, such as Warner Records and Atlantic Records, as well as Asylum, Big Beat, Canvasback, East West, Erato, FFRR, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Roadrunner, Sire, Spinnin’ Records, Warner Classics, and Warner Music Nashville.