Endeavor Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:EDR)

Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EDR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 300,267 put options on the company. This is an increase of 2,469% compared to the typical volume of 11,686 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Endeavor Group news, CAO William K. Fullerton sold 2,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.58, for a total value of $68,040.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,624,531.92. This trade represents a 4.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Patrick Whitesell purchased 117,769 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $175.40 per share, with a total value of $20,656,682.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 2,579,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $452,433,249.80. This trade represents a 4.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 1,535,485 shares of company stock valued at $239,160,243 over the last ninety days. 63.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Endeavor Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EDR. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Endeavor Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Endeavor Group by 176.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 1,469 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Endeavor Group in the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of Endeavor Group in the fourth quarter worth about $120,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Endeavor Group by 67.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 2,248 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.99% of the company’s stock.

Endeavor Group Price Performance

NYSE EDR traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $30.66. 189,527 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,848,679. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.61. Endeavor Group has a 1 year low of $23.14 and a 1 year high of $35.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $20.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.97 and a beta of 0.74.

Endeavor Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Endeavor Group’s payout ratio is -11.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on EDR. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Endeavor Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com lowered Endeavor Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.86.

Endeavor Group Company Profile

Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc operates as a sports and entertainment company in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Owned Sports Properties; Events, Experiences & Rights; Representation; and Sports Data & Technology. The Owned Sports Properties segment operates a portfolio of sports properties, including Ultimate Fighting Championship, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc, Professional Bull Rider, and Euroleague.