Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) is expected to report earnings of $0.29 per share

Equity research analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) will report earnings per share of $0.29 for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks reports. Two analysts released earnings estimates for Warner Music Group, with the highest EPS estimate of $0.32 and the lowest estimate of $0.27. Warner Music Group reported earnings of $0.21 per share in the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive growth rate of 38.1% year over year. The company is expected to announce its next earnings report before market open on Tuesday, February 8.

On average, analysts expect Warner Music Group to report annual earnings of $1.01 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $0.97 to $1.10. For next year, analysts expect the company to post earnings of $1.34 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.17 to $1.46. Zacks EPS averages are an average average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts who provide coverage for Warner Music Group.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced its quarterly results on Monday, November 15. The company reported EPS of $0.05 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 per ($0.10). Warner Music Group had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 830.77%. The company posted revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ estimates of $1.36 billion. In the same quarter last year, the company achieved EPS of $0.02. The company’s revenue for the quarter increased 22.2% year over year.

Several research companies have recently weighed in on WMG. Truist Financial raised its price target on Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a Tuesday, October 12 research report. Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Warner Music Group from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a Friday, Oct. 8 research report. Tigress Financial raised its price target on Warner Music Group from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 22. Redburn Partners downgraded Warner Music Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a Monday, December 13 research report. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group moved Warner Music Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised its share price target from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research report Tuesday, January 4. One equity research analyst gave the stock a sell rating, four gave the company a hold rating and seven gave the company a buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $49.45.

In other Warner Music Group news, major shareholder Ai Entertainment Holdings Llc sold 4,356,680 shares of Warner Music Group in a trade on Thursday, January 6. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.66, for a total transaction of $177,142,608.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available via this hyperlink. 80.51% of the shares are currently held by insiders of the company.

Several large investors have recently changed their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 8.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,013,835 shares of the company valued at $288,818,000 after purchasing an additional 653,416 shares last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Warner Music Group shares by 162.2% during the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,355,360 shares of the company worth $229,047,000 after purchasing an additional 3,931,904 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Warner Music Group shares by 0.4% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,344,271 shares of the company worth $185,673,000 after purchasing an additional 17,547 shares during the period. Soma Equity Partners LP increased its position in Warner Music Group shares by 7.9% during the second quarter. Soma Equity Partners LP now owns 4,100,000 shares of the company worth $147,764,000 after purchasing an additional 300,000 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in Warner Music Group shares by 5.9% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,516,548 shares of the company valued at $150,297,000 after purchasing an additional 196,720 shares last quarter. Institutional investors hold 18.96% of the company’s shares.

Shares of WMG traded down $0.42 during Friday’s midday session, hitting $39.15. The company’s shares had a trading volume of 1,428,773 shares, compared to an average trading volume of 1,623,641 shares. Warner Music Group has a one-year low of $31.50 and a one-year high of $50.23. The company has a debt ratio of 72.74, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $20.14 billion, a PE ratio of 68.69, a growth price-earnings ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.10 and its two-hundred-day moving average is $41.40.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 1. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 23 received a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 22. This represents a dividend of $0.60 on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is currently 105.27%.

About Warner Music Group

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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