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

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) had its target price reduced by research analysts at Citigroup from $41.00 to $40.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 33.43% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 21st. UBS Group set a $33.00 price objective on Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.88.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Warner Music Group stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.98. 583,273 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,793,111. The company has a market capitalization of $15.66 billion, a PE ratio of 42.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $29.52 and a 200 day moving average of $31.19. Warner Music Group has a 1-year low of $25.56 and a 1-year high of $36.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.77.

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

Institutional Trading of Warner Music Group

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

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.