The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS) Short Interest Up 21.3% in March

Key Points

• Short interest rose 21.3% in March to 918,944 shares (about 4.7% of shares sold short), with a short-interest ratio of 3.5 days based on average daily volume.
• Director Charles P. Dolan sold 5,659 shares for roughly $1.84 million, cutting his stake by 92.86%; corporate insiders collectively own 19.07% of the company.
• Several analysts raised ratings and price targets, but the consensus remains a “Hold” with a $312.80 target while the stock recently traded around $330.44.

The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 918,944 shares, an increase of 21.3% from the March 15th total of 757,484 shares. Approximately 4.7% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 264,573 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Madison Square Garden news, Director Charles P. Dolan sold 5,659 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.26, for a total value of $1,840,646.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 435 shares in the company, valued at $141,488.10. This trade represents a 92.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 19.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Madison Square Garden in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Madison Square Garden by 5,450.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 111 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Madison Square Garden during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Madison Square Garden by 67.1% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 122 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Madison Square Garden by 1,150.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 125 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSGS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Madison Square Garden from $240.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Madison Square Garden from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Seaport Research Partners raised Madison Square Garden from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $430.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Madison Square Garden from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Madison Square Garden from $356.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $312.80.

Madison Square Garden Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSGS opened at $330.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -478.89 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $314.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $267.15. Madison Square Garden has a 52 week low of $183.58 and a 52 week high of $345.48.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $403.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $394.58 million. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Madison Square Garden will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

Madison Square Garden Company Profile

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp NYSE: MSGS is a leading sports and entertainment holding company focused on professional sports franchises and related media assets. The company owns and operates teams such as the NBA's New York Knicks, the NHL's New York Rangers and the WNBA's New York Liberty. Through these flagship franchises, MSG Sports offers a range of products and services including ticketing, premium seating and sponsorship opportunities, targeting fans in the New York metropolitan area and beyond.

In addition to team operations, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp holds a majority stake in MSG Networks, a regional cable network that broadcasts live sporting events, news and original programming.

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