iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) Given Average Recommendation of "Reduce" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give iHeartMedia a consensus "Reduce" rating from five analysts (2 sell, 2 hold, 1 buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $4.33; Goldman Sachs recently downgraded to sell while Bank of America raised its target to $5 (neutral).
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.04, missing estimates by $0.06, and showed a negative net margin (-12.24%) and negative ROE, with analysts forecasting -$0.13 EPS for the current year.
• CEO Robert W. Pittman bought 32,468 shares at $3.25 on March 5, insiders now own 8.5% of the stock, and institutional investors hold roughly 93.9% of the company.

Shares of iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the five analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $4.3333.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on iHeartMedia from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of iHeartMedia from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $4.00 to $3.50 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a report on Thursday, January 22nd.

iHeartMedia Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of IHRT opened at $3.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $486.52 million, a P/E ratio of -1.06, a P/E/G ratio of 30.97 and a beta of 1.70. The business's 50 day moving average price is $3.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.41. iHeartMedia has a 52 week low of $0.95 and a 52 week high of $5.44.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.06). iHeartMedia had a negative net margin of 12.24% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that iHeartMedia will post -0.13 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other iHeartMedia news, CEO Robert W. Pittman acquired 32,468 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $3.25 per share, with a total value of $105,521.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 6,214,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,198,545.25. The trade was a 0.53% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 8.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of iHeartMedia

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 3,378 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of iHeartMedia during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Xponance LLC bought a new stake in shares of iHeartMedia in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of iHeartMedia during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in iHeartMedia during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Institutional investors own 93.89% of the company's stock.

About iHeartMedia

iHeartMedia, Inc NASDAQ: IHRT is a leading media and entertainment company specializing in radio broadcasting, digital streaming and live events. The company operates more than 860 full-power AM and FM radio stations across the United States, delivering music, news, sports and talk programming to local markets. Through its flagship digital platform, iHeartRadio, the company provides listeners with free and subscription-based access to thousands of live radio stations, curated music playlists and on-demand podcasts.

Originally founded in 1972 as Clear Channel Communications, the business rebranded to iHeartMedia in 2014 to reflect the growing importance of its digital and event-driven offerings.

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