Investment Analysts’ Recent Ratings Updates for Warner Music Group (WMG)

Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of Warner Music Group (NASDAQ: WMG) in the last few weeks:

• 11/29/2024 – Warner Music Group had its price target raised by analysts at Citigroup Inc. from $31.00 to $34.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 11/25/2024 – Warner Music Group had its price target lowered by analysts at Loop Capital from $38.00 to $35.00. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock.
• 11/22/2024 – Warner Music Group had its price target lowered by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $41.00 to $40.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 11/22/2024 – Warner Music Group had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Macquarie. They now have a $30.00 price target on the stock.
• 11/22/2024 – Warner Music Group had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays PLC from $32.00 to $31.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 11/22/2024 – Warner Music Group had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Guggenheim. They now have a $44.00 price target on the stock.
• 10/11/2024 – Warner Music Group had its price target lowered by analysts at Macquarie from $32.00 to $30.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG opened at $32.34 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95. The business’s 50 day moving average is $32.02 and its 200 day moving average is $30.62. The stock has a market cap of $16.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52-week low of $27.06 and a 52-week high of $38.05.

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

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is 86.75%.

Insider Activity at Warner Music Group

In other news, CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $12,007,352.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,289,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,113,588. This trade represents a 15.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 73.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 239.3% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 45,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 32,300 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,628,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,284,000 after purchasing an additional 49,166 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,352,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,373,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $304,000. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.