Carlson Capital L.P. Buys 56,000 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Carlson Capital increased its Warner Bros. Discovery stake by 140% in the first quarter, purchasing 56,000 additional shares for a total of 96,000 shares valued at approximately $2.64 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own about 59.95% of WBD’s outstanding shares, with several other firms also increasing their positions.
• WBD reported a significant quarterly EPS loss of $1.17, far below the $0.10 consensus estimate, while analysts maintain an overall “Hold” rating with an average price target of $27.04.

Carlson Capital L.P. grew its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 140.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 56,000 shares during the period. Warner Bros. Discovery comprises about 0.8% of Carlson Capital L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Carlson Capital L.P.'s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $2,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WBD. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 304.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 68,950 shares of the company's stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 51,920 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 50.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 63,254 shares of the company's stock worth $679,000 after acquiring an additional 21,228 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 6.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,082 shares of the company's stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 3,779 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 91.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 116,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 55,837 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.8% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 111,450 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 4,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Up 3.3%

Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $26.30 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $26.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.76 and a 12 month high of $30.00. The stock has a market cap of $65.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.57 and a beta of 1.54.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($1.07). The company had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.89 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 4.77% and a negative net margin of 4.67%.The company's revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WBD shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Huber Research upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners cut Warner Bros. Discovery from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.04.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery NASDAQ: WBD is a global media and entertainment company formed when WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc combined their businesses in 2022. Headquartered in New York City, the company assembles a broad portfolio of film and television production, linear and cable networks, streaming services and consumer distribution operations. Its assets span well-known studio brands, premium scripted and unscripted programming, news and factual entertainment, and licensed franchise properties.

The company's core activities include film and television production and distribution through units such as Warner Bros.

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