Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Nineteen brokerages rate WMG an average of "Moderate Buy" (13 buys, 6 holds) with a mean 1‑year price target of $36.00.
• Recent results: WMG reported $0.33 EPS (missing the $0.40 estimate) while revenue rose 10.4% YoY to $1.84 billion, topping expectations.
• Valuation and capital signals: the stock trades near $29 with a $15.14B market cap and P/E ~50, shows high leverage (debt/equity 5.30), and pays a $0.19 quarterly dividend (2.6% yield) with a 131% payout ratio.

Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $36.00.

Several brokerages have commented on WMG. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson began coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a "buy" rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of WMG stock opened at $28.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.30, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $15.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.28. The company's 50 day moving average price is $27.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.24. Warner Music Group has a 52 week low of $23.34 and a 52 week high of $34.63.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 38.33% and a net margin of 4.43%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Warner Music Group will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 131.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,645,276 shares of the company's stock worth $510,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200,362 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 6,227.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,173,417 shares of the company's stock worth $74,027,000 after acquiring an additional 2,139,067 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 178.5% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,183,654 shares of the company's stock worth $108,435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,425 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,914,577 shares of the company's stock worth $576,110,000 after acquiring an additional 1,837,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 5,055.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,860,687 shares of the company's stock worth $63,375,000 after acquiring an additional 1,824,596 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Company Profile

Warner Music Group is a major global music company that operates across recorded music and music publishing. Its recorded-music business comprises a portfolio of well-known labels—including Atlantic, Warner Records and Parlophone—as well as distribution and artist-services operations that support both established and emerging artists. The company's publishing arm, Warner Chappell Music, manages songwriting catalogs and administers rights for compositions across multiple media, providing licensing for film, television, advertising and other commercial uses.

WMG's activities span the full music value chain: signing and developing artists, producing and marketing recordings, distributing music through physical channels and streaming platforms, and monetizing rights through licensing, synchronization and neighboring-rights collection.

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