Guggenheim Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) Stock

Key Points

• Guggenheim raised its price target on Madison Square Garden to $401 and kept a "buy" rating, implying about a 19.9% upside from the prior close.
• Several other firms have lifted targets (JPMorgan to $305, Susquehanna to $388, Seaport to $430), but the consensus remains a Hold with an average price target of $330.20.
• Shares trade near $334.41 with an $8.05B market cap; revenue grew 12.7% year-over-year but the company missed quarterly EPS and analysts forecast a -$0.34 EPS for the current year.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Guggenheim from $355.00 to $401.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Guggenheim's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 19.91% from the company's previous close.

MSGS has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Madison Square Garden from $240.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Madison Square Garden from $356.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Madison Square Garden from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Seaport Research Partners raised Madison Square Garden from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $430.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Madison Square Garden from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Madison Square Garden presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $330.20.

Madison Square Garden Stock Performance

Shares of MSGS opened at $334.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $317.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $269.15. Madison Square Garden has a fifty-two week low of $183.58 and a fifty-two week high of $345.48. The firm has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -486.51 and a beta of 0.59.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $403.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $394.58 million. The business's revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.05 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Madison Square Garden will post -0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Madison Square Garden

In other Madison Square Garden news, Director Charles P. Dolan sold 5,659 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.26, for a total transaction of $1,840,646.34. Following the sale, the director directly owned 435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,488.10. This trade represents a 92.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 19.07% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Madison Square Garden

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Madison Square Garden by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 699,378 shares of the company's stock worth $180,895,000 after acquiring an additional 282,318 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Madison Square Garden by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 648,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,739,000 after acquiring an additional 49,412 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of Madison Square Garden by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 613,391 shares of the company's stock valued at $158,654,000 after purchasing an additional 6,873 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Madison Square Garden by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 538,404 shares of the company's stock worth $139,258,000 after buying an additional 15,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Madison Square Garden by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 455,042 shares of the company's stock worth $103,295,000 after buying an additional 1,688 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.94% of the company's stock.

About Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp NYSE: MSGS is a leading sports and entertainment holding company focused on professional sports franchises and related media assets. The company owns and operates teams such as the NBA's New York Knicks, the NHL's New York Rangers and the WNBA's New York Liberty. Through these flagship franchises, MSG Sports offers a range of products and services including ticketing, premium seating and sponsorship opportunities, targeting fans in the New York metropolitan area and beyond.

In addition to team operations, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp holds a majority stake in MSG Networks, a regional cable network that broadcasts live sporting events, news and original programming.

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