Cove Street Capital LLC Lowers Stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Cove Street Capital LLC has reduced its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. by 28.9%, making it the 5th largest position in their portfolio.
• Warner Bros. Discovery reported an EPS of $0.63, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of ($0.16) for the recent quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Independent Franchise Partners LLP and Nuveen LLC, have recently acquired significant positions in Warner Bros. Discovery, indicating increased investor interest.

Cove Street Capital LLC trimmed its position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 28.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 260,805 shares of the company's stock after selling 106,000 shares during the period. Warner Bros. Discovery accounts for 4.4% of Cove Street Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Cove Street Capital LLC's holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $2,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the first quarter worth $26,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the first quarter worth $27,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the first quarter worth $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 59.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Monday, July 14th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Barclays increased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.14.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBD traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $12.11. 63,862,263 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 45,631,712. The company has a market cap of $29.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a one year low of $6.78 and a one year high of $13.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.07 and a 200 day moving average of $10.53.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.73 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 2.14% and a net margin of 2.00%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($4.07) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, Director Anton J. Levy purchased 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.90 per share, with a total value of $2,725,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 874,000 shares in the company, valued at $9,526,600. This trade represents a 40.06% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Studios, Network, and DTC. The Studios segment produces and releases feature films for initial exhibition in theaters; produces and licenses television programs to its networks and third parties and direct-to-consumer services; distributes films and television programs to various third parties and internal television; and offers streaming services and distribution through the home entertainment market, themed experience licensing, and interactive gaming.