Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Coverage Initiated at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) in a report published on Monday, StockNewsAPI reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on WMG. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Warner Music Group from a sell rating to a neutral rating and raised their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Warner Music Group presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $37.18.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 3.8 %

NASDAQ WMG traded up $1.31 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $35.45. 1,894,988 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,502,279. The firm has a market cap of $18.36 billion, a PE ratio of 40.28, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.50, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Warner Music Group has a 52-week low of $23.62 and a 52-week high of $38.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.08.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.13). Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 128.86% and a net margin of 7.42%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMG. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in Warner Music Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 627.6% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the company's stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Warner Music Group Company Profile

Warner Music Group Corp. operates as a music entertainment company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through Recorded Music and Music Publishing segments. The Recorded Music segment is involved in the discovery and development of recording artists, as well as related marketing, promotion, distribution, sale, and licensing of music created by such recording artists; markets its music catalog through compilations and reissuances of previously released music and video titles, as well as previously unreleased materials; and conducts its operation primarily through a collection of record labels, such as Warner Records and Atlantic Records, as well as Asylum, Big Beat, Canvasback, East West, Erato, FFRR, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Roadrunner, Sire, Spinnin' Records, Warner Classics, and Warner Music Nashville.