Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) coverage initiated by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft analysts

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft has started covering the shares of Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG – Get Note) in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage has set a “buy” rating and a price target of $42.00 on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s target price indicates an upside potential of 26.32% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WMG. Jefferies Financial Group moved shares of Warner Music Group from a ‘hold’ rating to a ‘buy’ rating and raised its price target for the company from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research report Tuesday, January 4. Loop Capital raised its target price on Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a Tuesday, November 16 research report. Redburn Partners downgraded Warner Music Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a Monday, December 13 research report. Royal Bank of Canada raised its target price on Warner Music Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a Tuesday, November 16 research report. They noted that the move was a review call. Finally, Tigress Financial raised its price target on Warner Music Group shares from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a Wednesday, Dec. 22 research report. Two investment analysts gave the stock a sell rating, three gave the company a hold rating and eight gave the company a buy rating. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.42.

NASDAQ:WMG shares opened at $33.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $38.40 and a 200-day moving average of $41.68. The company has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 44.33, a growth price-earnings ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.07. Warner Music Group has a 12-month low of $29.34 and a 12-month high of $50.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt ratio of 22.36.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG – Get Rating) last released its quarterly results on Tuesday, February 8. The company reported earnings per share of $0.36 for the quarter, beating the Zacks consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The company posted revenue of $1.61 billion in the quarter, compared to analysts’ estimates of $1.49 billion. Warner Music Group achieved a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 481.86%. The company’s revenue increased 20.9% year over year. In the same period a year earlier, the company posted earnings per share of $0.20. Equity research analysts expect Warner Music Group to post 1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In related news, Director Lincoln E. Benet sold 10,000 shares in a trade dated Friday, March 4. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.20, for a total value of $332,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed on the SEC’s website. Additionally, director Lincoln E. Benet sold 20,000 shares in a transaction dated Monday, February 28. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.64, for a total transaction of $712,800.00. The disclosure of this sale can be found here. Last quarter, insiders sold 4,396,680 shares of the company valued at $178,545,409. 76.57% of the shares are currently held by insiders of the company.

Institutional investors have recently changed their positions in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its position in Warner Music Group by 100.0% in the third quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 600 shares of the company valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp bought a new stake in Warner Music Group during Q4 for $27,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Warner Music Group by 201.3% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 958 shares of the company valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Capital Square LLC purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group during Q3 for $229,000. Finally, JustInvest LLC acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter at a value of $226,000. 19.12% of the shares are currently held by institutional investors.

About Warner Music Group (Get an evaluation)

Warner Music Group Corp. operates as a music entertainment company in the United States, United Kingdom and internationally. The Company operates through the Recorded Music and Music Publishing segments. The Recorded Music segment is involved in the discovery and development of recording artists, as well as the related marketing, promotion, distribution, sale and licensing of music created by such artists.

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