The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $252.60.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Madison Square Garden from $235.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $314.00 price target on shares of Madison Square Garden in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Madison Square Garden from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Susquehanna began coverage on shares of Madison Square Garden in a report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "positive" rating and a $254.00 target price for the company.

Institutional Trading of Madison Square Garden

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Madison Square Garden by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,945,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $438,991,000 after buying an additional 33,641 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in shares of Madison Square Garden by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 603,324 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,479,000 after buying an additional 14,669 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Madison Square Garden by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 528,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,919,000 after buying an additional 29,938 shares during the period. Greenhouse Funds LLLP grew its stake in shares of Madison Square Garden by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Greenhouse Funds LLLP now owns 408,327 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,509,000 after buying an additional 13,707 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Madison Square Garden by 523.2% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 347,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,724,000 after buying an additional 291,989 shares during the period. 68.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Madison Square Garden Stock Down 1.0%

MSGS traded down $2.00 on Wednesday, reaching $208.42. The company had a trading volume of 178,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 126,137. Madison Square Garden has a 1 year low of $173.26 and a 1 year high of $237.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 992.52 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $197.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $200.18.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($2.07). Madison Square Garden had a net margin of 0.45% and a negative return on equity of 1.76%. The company had revenue of $424.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $436.84 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Madison Square Garden's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Madison Square Garden will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. operates as a professional sports company in the United States. The company owns and operates a portfolio of assets that consists of the New York Knickerbockers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. Its other professional franchises include development league teams, the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League and the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League.