Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Raised to Strong-Buy at Stonex Financia

Key Points

• Stonex Financial upgraded Warner Music Group to “strong buy,” while broader analyst sentiment remains “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus price target of $38.27.
• Warner Music shares opened at $30.69 and were reported up 6.2%; the company’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $0.51 versus $0.34 expected and revenue rising 10.4% year over year to $1.86 billion.
• Institutional investors own 96.88% of WMG, with several major funds—including Renaissance Technologies and Principal Financial Group—increasing their positions.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Stonex Financia to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on WMG. Zacks Research cut shares of Warner Music Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Warner Music Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.27.

Warner Music Group Trading Up 6.2%

Shares of Warner Music Group stock opened at $30.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.59. Warner Music Group has a 12-month low of $23.34 and a 12-month high of $35.42.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 85.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Warner Music Group will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMG. Darsana Capital Partners LP raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 0.8% during the second quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 11,943,199 shares of the company's stock worth $323,302,000 after acquiring an additional 93,199 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 88.3% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,521,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,867,000 after acquiring an additional 713,578 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group in the second quarter worth about $34,111,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Warner Music Group by 207.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 952,316 shares of the company's stock worth $24,323,000 after purchasing an additional 642,590 shares during the period. Finally, Ardmore Road Asset Management LP increased its position in Warner Music Group by 61.9% in the first quarter. Ardmore Road Asset Management LP now owns 843,836 shares of the company's stock worth $21,552,000 after purchasing an additional 322,640 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group Corp. is a global music entertainment company that operates through two primary businesses: recorded music and music publishing. Its recorded-music operations discover, develop, market and distribute music from artists and songwriters through labels including Warner Records, Atlantic Records and Parlophone, as well as a range of regional and specialty labels.

The company's music publishing division, Warner Chappell Music, manages copyrights and licenses compositions for use in recordings, films, television, advertising, video games and other media.

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