Short Interest in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Decreases By 24.1%

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,223,705 shares, a drop of 24.1% from the December 15th total of 6,878,622 shares. Approximately 3.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,246,852 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,246,852 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 3.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of WMG stock traded down $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $30.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,192,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,639,702. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.77. The company has a market cap of $15.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.25. Warner Music Group has a one year low of $25.56 and a one year high of $36.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.14). Warner Music Group had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 47.78%. The business had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is 108.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMG. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 120.1% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of 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. raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 480.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMG. Wall Street Zen cut Warner Music Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Warner Music Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.94.

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.