Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $157.27.

LYV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $146.00 price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $149.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Macquarie upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $146.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $148.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Insider Transactions at Live Nation Entertainment

In other news, Director Jeffrey T. Hinson sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.95, for a total value of $61,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 52,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,470,120.80. This trade represents a 0.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Rowles sold 63,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.40, for a total value of $9,811,334.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 195,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,356,768.40. The trade was a 24.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,702 shares of company stock valued at $10,497,143 over the last ninety days. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Live Nation Entertainment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYV. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 207.6% during the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 4,693,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,871,000 after buying an additional 3,168,210 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in Live Nation Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth about $259,000,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Live Nation Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth about $255,955,000. ValueAct Holdings L.P. purchased a new position in Live Nation Entertainment during the third quarter worth about $111,094,000. Finally, PointState Capital LP purchased a new position in Live Nation Entertainment during the third quarter worth about $102,762,000. 74.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Live Nation Entertainment Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of LYV stock opened at $122.93 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $28.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.20, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $138.74 and a 200-day moving average of $127.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.10. Live Nation Entertainment has a 1-year low of $86.81 and a 1-year high of $157.75.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.93) by $1.49. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.67 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 139.09% and a net margin of 3.90%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Live Nation Entertainment will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc operates as a live entertainment company worldwide. It operates through Concerts, Ticketing, and Sponsorship & Advertising segments. The Concerts segment promotes live music events in its owned or operated venues, and in rented third-party venues. This segment operates and manages music venues; produces music festivals; creates and streams associated content; and offers management and other services to artists.