StockNews.com Upgrades Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on LYV. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Live Nation Entertainment from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $118.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $132.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $120.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Live Nation Entertainment from $132.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.53.

Live Nation Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LYV opened at $136.51 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.72 billion, a PE ratio of 145.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.33. Live Nation Entertainment has a twelve month low of $81.38 and a twelve month high of $136.54.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.75 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 77.62% and a net margin of 2.11%. Live Nation Entertainment’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Live Nation Entertainment will post 1.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Live Nation Entertainment

In other Live Nation Entertainment news, EVP Michael Rowles sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.64, for a total value of $3,417,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,349,525.08. This trade represents a 17.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Rapino sold 98,849 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.50, for a total value of $9,637,777.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,702,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,956,212.50. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 168,799 shares of company stock worth $16,449,718 over the last three months. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Live Nation Entertainment

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 119.5% in the second quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 67.4% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Live Nation Entertainment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. 74.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.