The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE:MSGS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $261.3333.

MSGS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Madison Square Garden in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Madison Square Garden in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Madison Square Garden from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Madison Square Garden from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Madison Square Garden from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th.

Madison Square Garden Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:MSGS opened at $283.93 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $254.74 and a 200 day moving average of $226.67. The company has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of -289.72 and a beta of 0.63. Madison Square Garden has a 12-month low of $173.26 and a 12-month high of $293.35.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.04) by $0.67. The firm had revenue of $39.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.41 million. Madison Square Garden’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.31) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Madison Square Garden will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Madison Square Garden

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSGS. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of Madison Square Garden by 1.9% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 614,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,460,000 after acquiring an additional 11,464 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Madison Square Garden by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 455,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,688 shares during the last quarter. Greenhouse Funds LLLP grew its position in shares of Madison Square Garden by 6.5% during the second quarter. Greenhouse Funds LLLP now owns 434,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,874,000 after purchasing an additional 26,583 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Madison Square Garden by 0.6% in the third quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 390,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,685,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Madison Square Garden by 9.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 234,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,032,000 after buying an additional 20,277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.94% of the company’s stock.

About Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp (NYSE: MSGS) is a leading sports and entertainment holding company focused on professional sports franchises and related media assets. The company owns and operates teams such as the NBA’s New York Knicks, the NHL’s New York Rangers and the WNBA’s New York Liberty. Through these flagship franchises, MSG Sports offers a range of products and services including ticketing, premium seating and sponsorship opportunities, targeting fans in the New York metropolitan area and beyond.

In addition to team operations, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp holds a majority stake in MSG Networks, a regional cable network that broadcasts live sporting events, news and original programming.