Citigroup Initiates Coverage on Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS)

Key Points

• Citigroup has initiated coverage on Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) with a "buy" rating and a price target of $285.00, suggesting a potential upside of 40.37% from its current price.
• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on MSG shares from $215.00 to $220.00 and rates the stock as "equal weight," indicating mixed sentiments among analysts.
• For the latest quarter, Madison Square Garden posted a revenue of $203.96 million, exceeding expectations significantly, though it reported a negative net margin and earnings per share of ($0.07).

Equities research analysts at Citigroup began coverage on shares of Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $285.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup's price objective indicates a potential upside of 33.70% from the stock's current price.

Separately, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Madison Square Garden from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.83.

Madison Square Garden Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSGS traded up $1.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $213.16. The company had a trading volume of 205,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 159,679. Madison Square Garden has a 1-year low of $173.26 and a 1-year high of $237.99. The company has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of -231.69 and a beta of 0.78. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $201.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.36.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.35. Madison Square Garden had a negative return on equity of 1.76% and a negative net margin of 2.16%.The company had revenue of $203.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Madison Square Garden will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Madison Square Garden

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSGS. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Madison Square Garden in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Madison Square Garden by 59.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 185 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Madison Square Garden in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Madison Square Garden by 35.5% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 416 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Madison Square Garden by 313.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 401 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. 68.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Madison Square Garden Company Profile

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. operates as a professional sports company in the United States. The company owns and operates a portfolio of assets that consists of the New York Knickerbockers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. Its other professional franchises include development league teams, the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League and the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League.