Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.0417.

A number of research firms have issued reports on WBD. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.50 to $27.75 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Huber Research raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Monday, March 9th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

NASDAQ WBD opened at $26.20 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.63. The stock has a market cap of $65.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.43 and a beta of 1.54. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 12-month low of $10.27 and a 12-month high of $30.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($1.07). The company had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.89 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 4.77% and a negative net margin of 4.67%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WBD. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 304.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 68,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 51,920 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 50.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 63,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 21,228 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 6.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 3,779 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 91.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 116,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after buying an additional 55,837 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.8% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 111,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after buying an additional 4,062 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) is a global media and entertainment company formed when WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc combined their businesses in 2022. Headquartered in New York City, the company assembles a broad portfolio of film and television production, linear and cable networks, streaming services and consumer distribution operations. Its assets span well-known studio brands, premium scripted and unscripted programming, news and factual entertainment, and licensed franchise properties.

The company’s core activities include film and television production and distribution through units such as Warner Bros.