Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $165.24.

LYV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Susquehanna set a $165.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Roth Mkm cut their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $174.00 to $164.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target on Live Nation Entertainment from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Down 1.9%

LYV stock opened at $147.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $34.27 billion, a PE ratio of 50.47, a PEG ratio of 5.97 and a beta of 1.44. Live Nation Entertainment has a 1 year low of $87.33 and a 1 year high of $157.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.43.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.03) by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 125.77% and a net margin of 4.28%. Live Nation Entertainment's quarterly revenue was down 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Live Nation Entertainment will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Live Nation Entertainment news, EVP John Hopmans sold 34,808 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.38, for a total transaction of $5,130,003.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 189,456 shares in the company, valued at $27,922,025.28. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Live Nation Entertainment

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Live Nation Entertainment during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 690.2% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 324 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. 74.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc operates as a live entertainment company worldwide. It operates through Concerts, Ticketing, and Sponsorship & Advertising segments. The Concerts segment promotes live music events in its owned or operated venues, and in rented third-party venues. This segment operates and manages music venues; produces music festivals; creates and streams associated content; and offers management and other services to artists.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.