Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Upgraded at Bank of America

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Bank of America from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $33.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $28.00. Bank of America's price objective points to a potential upside of 10.85% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on WMG. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $34.00 target price (down from $35.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.35.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of WMG stock traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $29.77. 1,222,243 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,777,474. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.43, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.66. Warner Music Group has a one year low of $25.56 and a one year high of $36.64. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $27.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.24.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 64.64% and a net margin of 7.14%. Warner Music Group's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.18 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Warner Music Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 122.6% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,064 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group during the first quarter worth $40,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 101.5% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.