Poehling Capital Management INC. Reduces Holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Poehling Capital Management cut its Warner Bros. Discovery stake by 46.6% in the fourth quarter, though WBD still remained its sixth-largest holding at 2.9% of the portfolio.
• Warner Bros. Discovery posted a larger-than-expected quarterly loss, reporting EPS of -$1.17 versus estimates of -$0.10, while revenue came in at $8.89 billion, roughly in line with expectations.
• Insiders have been selling heavily, including CEO David Zaslav and Director Paul A. Gould, and analysts currently rate the stock Hold on average with a consensus price target of $26.36.

Poehling Capital Management INC. trimmed its position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 46.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 483,848 shares of the company's stock after selling 421,832 shares during the quarter. Warner Bros. Discovery makes up 2.9% of Poehling Capital Management INC.'s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Poehling Capital Management INC.'s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $13,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WBD. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 304.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 68,950 shares of the company's stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 51,920 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 50.5% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 63,254 shares of the company's stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 21,228 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 3,779 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 91.6% in the 1st 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 stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.8% in the 2nd 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 own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Down 0.0%

WBD stock opened at $27.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.70 and a beta of 1.57. The business's fifty day moving average price is $27.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.02. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.83 and a fifty-two week high of $30.00.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($1.07). Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 4.77% and a negative net margin of 4.67%.The business had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other news, CEO David Zaslav sold 4,004,149 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total transaction of $113,157,250.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul A. Gould sold 600,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.35, for a total value of $16,410,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 244,357 shares in the company, valued at $6,683,163.95. The trade was a 71.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,206,827 shares of company stock valued at $230,674,025. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on WBD shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Monday, March 9th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price target for the company from $29.50 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Argus lowered their price target 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, Zacks Research cut shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.36.

Warner Bros. Discovery Profile

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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