Magnetar Financial LLC Invests $566,000 in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group Corp. by purchasing 18,054 shares, valued at approximately $566,000 during the 1st quarter.
• Warner Music Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.19, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.3%.
• According to analysts, Warner Music Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $33.88, reflecting a range of ratings from "Strong Buy" to "Hold".

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 18,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $566,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 101.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 45.2% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 878 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 71.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,040 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of WMG stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $32.81. 1,860,195 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,912,899. The stock's 50 day moving average is $30.96 and its 200-day moving average is $30.19. The company has a market cap of $17.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37. Warner Music Group Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $25.56 and a fifty-two week high of $36.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.30). Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 39.95% and a net margin of 4.59%.The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This is an increase from Warner Music Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Warner Music Group's payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WMG shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research raised Warner Music Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays raised their price target on Warner Music Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised Warner Music Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $28.00 to $33.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Warner Music Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.88.

Warner Music Group Profile

Warner Music Group Corp. operates as a music entertainment company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through Recorded Music and Music Publishing segments. The Recorded Music segment is involved in the discovery and development of recording artists, as well as related marketing, promotion, distribution, sale, and licensing of music created by such recording artists; markets its music catalog through compilations and reissuances of previously released music and video titles, as well as previously unreleased materials; and conducts its operation primarily through a collection of record labels, such as Warner Records and Atlantic Records, as well as Asylum, Big Beat, Canvasback, East West, Erato, FFRR, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Roadrunner, Sire, Spinnin' Records, Warner Classics, and Warner Music Nashville.