Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Warner Music Group Put Options (NASDAQ:WMG)

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 10,032 put options on the company. This is an increase of 2,758% compared to the average daily volume of 351 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WMG shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Warner Music Group in a report on Monday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Redburn Atlantic raised Warner Music Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $17.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.18.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Shares of WMG traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $35.45. 1,894,988 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,502,279. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.28, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.59 and a 200 day moving average of $34.08. Warner Music Group has a one year low of $23.62 and a one year high of $38.05.

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

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the company's stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. Capital City Trust Co. FL boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 5.5% during the first quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 9,597 shares of the company's stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,224 shares of the company's stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Warner Music Group by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Warner Music Group by 94.8% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,088 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company's stock.

About Warner Music Group

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.