Zacks Research Upgrades Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) to "Hold"

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Madison Square Garden from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating, indicating a more favorable outlook for the stock.
• Citigroup has initiated a "buy" rating with a target price of $285, while the consensus target price among analysts is $258.83.
• Madison Square Garden reported earnings of ($0.07) EPS, exceeding expectations, but revenue declined by 10.3% compared to the previous year.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup started coverage on Madison Square Garden in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $285.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Madison Square Garden from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Madison Square Garden in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Madison Square Garden in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Madison Square Garden currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $258.83.

Madison Square Garden Price Performance

Madison Square Garden stock opened at $220.38 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $208.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $200.31. Madison Square Garden has a 52-week low of $173.26 and a 52-week high of $237.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -239.55 and a beta of 0.78.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.35. Madison Square Garden had a negative return on equity of 1.76% and a negative net margin of 2.16%.The firm had revenue of $203.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Madison Square Garden will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Madison Square Garden

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Madison Square Garden by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 83,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Madison Square Garden by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Madison Square Garden during the 1st quarter valued at about $250,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Madison Square Garden during the 1st quarter valued at about $575,000. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Madison Square Garden by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 9,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.94% of the company's stock.

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.

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