Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Upgraded at Citigroup

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $42.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $34.00. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 19.62% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on WMG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Warner Music Group from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.81.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ WMG opened at $35.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.35. Warner Music Group has a 1-year low of $27.06 and a 1-year high of $36.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.85.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.11. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 79.01% and a net margin of 8.07%. Equities analysts predict that Warner Music Group will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lincoln E. Benet sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.96, for a total value of $1,083,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 242,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,503,465.60. This represents a 12.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 72.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Truist Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $214,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $307,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 1,041.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 363,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,373,000 after purchasing an additional 331,511 shares in the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 107.9% during the 3rd quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 22,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 11,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $239,000. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.