Wall Street Zen Upgrades Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) from sell to hold, adding to a mixed but generally cautious analyst view of the stock.
• Several other firms recently updated their ratings and targets, with the consensus among analysts now standing at Hold and an average target price of $403.
• The stock traded up 2.2% to open at $396.04, and the company’s latest earnings missed EPS estimates despite revenue coming in slightly above expectations.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Madison Square Garden from $429.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Madison Square Garden from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Madison Square Garden from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $450.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Madison Square Garden from $422.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Madison Square Garden in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Madison Square Garden presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $403.00.

Madison Square Garden Trading Up 2.2%

MSGS opened at $396.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -425.84 and a beta of 0.61. Madison Square Garden has a 12 month low of $188.60 and a 12 month high of $411.73. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $375.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $329.94.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($1.39). The business had revenue of $432.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $429.66 million. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.59) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Madison Square Garden will post -0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Madison Square Garden

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Madison Square Garden by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 699,378 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,895,000 after acquiring an additional 282,318 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Madison Square Garden during the 4th quarter worth about $55,586,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Madison Square Garden in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,107,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Madison Square Garden by 82.7% in the 4th quarter. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP now owns 329,705 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,278,000 after purchasing an additional 149,205 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Madison Square Garden by 182.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 131,123 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,915,000 after purchasing an additional 84,628 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.94% of the company's stock.

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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