Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Live Nation Entertainment has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 23 brokerages, with 20 buy ratings and an average 12-month price target of $187.75.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of ($1.85) per share, missing estimates, but revenue came in above expectations at $3.79 billion and rose 12.1% year over year.
• Insider activity showed two EVP stock sales in May, while institutional ownership remains high at 74.52%, indicating continued heavy interest from large investors.

Shares of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $187.75.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LYV. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $203.00 to $199.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th.

Live Nation Entertainment Price Performance

LYV stock opened at $162.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $161.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.02. Live Nation Entertainment has a 12-month low of $125.34 and a 12-month high of $175.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.93. The company has a market cap of $38.19 billion, a PE ratio of -91.60 and a beta of 1.12.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($1.50). Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 0.15% and a return on equity of 45.92%. The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.32) EPS. Live Nation Entertainment's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Live Nation Entertainment will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael Rowles sold 63,776 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.24, for a total transaction of $10,474,570.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 204,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,622,555.84. This trade represents a 23.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John Hopmans sold 93,078 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total transaction of $15,457,463.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 188,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,345,878.57. The trade was a 33.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 2.89% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Live Nation Entertainment

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,843,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,733,000 after purchasing an additional 759,363 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 11,141 shares of the company's stock worth $1,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,767 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 334,934 shares of the company's stock worth $54,728,000 after acquiring an additional 26,116 shares in the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 70.4% during the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 35,019 shares of the company's stock worth $5,722,000 after acquiring an additional 14,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,679,128 shares of the company's stock worth $3,378,970,000 after acquiring an additional 372,715 shares in the last quarter. 74.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment is a global live entertainment company that promotes, operates and sells tickets for live events. The company's core activities include concert promotion and production, venue operations and management, ticketing services through its Ticketmaster platform, artist management and development, and sponsorship and advertising services tied to live events. These integrated businesses are designed to connect artists, fans and commercial partners across the live event ecosystem.

The company in its current form was created following the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, combining a promoter and venue operator with one of the industry's largest ticketing platforms.

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