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

Shares of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $165.24.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna set a $165.00 target price on Live Nation Entertainment and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $174.00 to $164.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Tuesday, April 1st.

Live Nation Entertainment Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE LYV traded up $2.77 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $149.97. 3,435,746 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,339,222. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $140.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.43. The firm has a market cap of $34.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 1.44. Live Nation Entertainment has a fifty-two week low of $87.33 and a fifty-two week high of $157.75.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John Hopmans sold 34,808 shares of Live Nation Entertainment stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.38, for a total value of $5,130,003.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 189,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,922,025.28. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Live Nation Entertainment

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,882,872 shares of the company's stock worth $2,596,305,000 after acquiring an additional 713,020 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 4.4% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 9,029,939 shares of the company's stock worth $1,179,129,000 after purchasing an additional 379,924 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 4.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,596,509 shares of the company's stock worth $991,952,000 after purchasing an additional 294,310 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 21.4% in the first quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 5,698,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $744,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,871,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $500,107,000 after purchasing an additional 108,293 shares during the period. 74.52% of the stock is currently 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.