StockNews.com Upgrades Manchester United (NYSE:MANU) to “Sell”

Manchester United (NYSE:MANU) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Separately, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Manchester United from $20.30 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 14th.

Manchester United Price Performance

NYSE:MANU traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $15.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 489,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,384,747. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.68. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -141.27 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.28, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Manchester United has a twelve month low of $13.50 and a twelve month high of $26.64.

Manchester United (NYSE:MANU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 12th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.32. The business had revenue of $280.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.09 million. Manchester United had a negative return on equity of 12.29% and a negative net margin of 1.98%. On average, analysts anticipate that Manchester United will post -0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manchester United

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MANU. Segantii Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in Manchester United in the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,527,000. Eminence Capital LP increased its holdings in Manchester United by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 4,870,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,270,000 after purchasing an additional 627,283 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY increased its holdings in Manchester United by 57.3% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,169,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,142,000 after purchasing an additional 426,040 shares in the last quarter. Senvest Management LLC bought a new stake in Manchester United in the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,487,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in Manchester United by 290.1% in the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 373,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,401,000 after purchasing an additional 278,111 shares in the last quarter. 23.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manchester United Company Profile

Manchester United plc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates a professional sports team in the United Kingdom. It operates Manchester United Football Club, a professional football club. The company develops marketing and sponsorship relationships with international and regional companies to leverage its brand.