Cove Street Capital LLC Has $1.33 Million Stock Holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Cove Street Capital reduced its Warner Bros. Discovery stake by 64.7% in Q3, leaving it with 68,032 shares valued at about $1.33 million (roughly 1.7% of the firm's portfolio and its 24th largest holding).
• Significant insider selling: CEO David Zaslav sold 4,004,149 shares (~$113.2M) and Priya Aiyar sold 223,512 shares (~$6.3M), with insiders offloading about 7.57M shares worth ~$213.3M over the past 90 days.
• Recent results and market view: WBD missed EPS expectations (reported -$0.10 vs. $0.09 est.) with revenue of $9.46B (-5.7% y/y); the stock trades around $27 and carries an average analyst rating of "Hold" with a $26.30 target.

Cove Street Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 64.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,032 shares of the company's stock after selling 124,564 shares during the quarter. Warner Bros. Discovery comprises about 1.7% of Cove Street Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Cove Street Capital LLC's holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $1,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBD. Concord Wealth Partners increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 152.1% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 66.5% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 1,242.2% during the third quarter. Crews Bank & Trust now owns 1,718 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of WBD stock opened at $27.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $67.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.59 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.15 and a 200-day moving average of $23.77. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.52 and a 12-month high of $30.00.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.33 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 1.98% and a net margin of 1.95%.The firm's revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.20) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Priya Aiyar sold 223,512 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.24, for a total transaction of $6,311,978.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 919,252 shares in the company, valued at $25,959,676.48. The trade was a 19.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Zaslav sold 4,004,149 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total value of $113,157,250.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 7,200,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $203,489,719.02. This trade represents a 35.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,571,827 shares of company stock valued at $213,302,225. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WBD. TD Cowen raised their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 price target on Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Arete Research restated a "neutral" rating and set a $31.25 price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Argus cut their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Monday, March 9th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.30.

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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