Barington Companies Management LLC Buys Shares of 15,000 The Madison Square Garden Company $MSGS

Key Points

• Barington Companies Management LLC bought a new position of 15,000 shares in The Madison Square Garden Company (~$3.405M) in Q3, making up about 2.6% of Barington’s portfolio and its ninth-largest holding; Barington owns roughly 0.06% of MSGS.
• MSGS missed on earnings with EPS $0.34 vs. $0.66 expected, but revenue of $403.42M beat estimates and rose 12.7% YoY.
• Institutions own about 68.9% of the stock and insiders ~19.1% (including a recent sale of 5,659 shares by director Charles Dolan); analysts’ consensus is a Hold with an average price target of $286 versus the stock trading near $314 and a market cap of $7.55B.

Barington Companies Management LLC purchased a new position in The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,405,000. Madison Square Garden makes up about 2.6% of Barington Companies Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Barington Companies Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Madison Square Garden as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSGS. Amundi raised its stake in Madison Square Garden by 4.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 5,643 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,091,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Madison Square Garden by 8.0% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 27,147 shares of the company's stock worth $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,006 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Madison Square Garden by 28.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 24,807 shares of the company's stock worth $4,830,000 after acquiring an additional 5,452 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of Madison Square Garden during the first quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Madison Square Garden by 10.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,055 shares of the company's stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.94% of the company's stock.

Madison Square Garden Price Performance

Madison Square Garden stock opened at $313.76 on Friday. The Madison Square Garden Company has a one year low of $173.26 and a one year high of $345.46. The business's fifty day moving average is $289.08 and its 200 day moving average is $244.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of -454.72 and a beta of 0.56.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.32). The business had revenue of $403.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.58 million. The business's revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.05 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Madison Square Garden Company will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Madison Square Garden

In other news, Director Charles P. Dolan sold 5,659 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.26, for a total transaction of $1,840,646.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 435 shares of the company's stock, valued at $141,488.10. The trade was a 92.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 19.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Madison Square Garden from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Madison Square Garden from $290.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Madison Square Garden from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Madison Square Garden in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Madison Square Garden from $240.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $286.00.

Madison Square Garden Profile

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp NYSE: MSGS is a leading sports and entertainment holding company focused on professional sports franchises and related media assets. The company owns and operates teams such as the NBA's New York Knicks, the NHL's New York Rangers and the WNBA's New York Liberty. Through these flagship franchises, MSG Sports offers a range of products and services including ticketing, premium seating and sponsorship opportunities, targeting fans in the New York metropolitan area and beyond.

In addition to team operations, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp holds a majority stake in MSG Networks, a regional cable network that broadcasts live sporting events, news and original programming.

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