iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $4.3333.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on IHRT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered iHeartMedia from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $4.00 to $3.50 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on iHeartMedia from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th.

iHeartMedia Trading Down 2.9%

iHeartMedia stock opened at $3.68 on Friday. iHeartMedia has a 1-year low of $0.95 and a 1-year high of $5.44. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.10. The company has a market capitalization of $552.59 million, a P/E ratio of -1.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.67.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.64. iHeartMedia had a negative net margin of 10.37% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The firm had revenue of $997.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that iHeartMedia will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IHRT. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in iHeartMedia during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of iHeartMedia by 42.8% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 5,591 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of iHeartMedia during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in iHeartMedia by 341.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 24,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18,831 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in iHeartMedia by 757.0% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 15,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 14,065 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.89% of the company’s stock.

iHeartMedia Company Profile

iHeartMedia, Inc (NASDAQ: IHRT) is a leading media and entertainment company specializing in radio broadcasting, digital streaming and live events. The company operates more than 860 full-power AM and FM radio stations across the United States, delivering music, news, sports and talk programming to local markets. Through its flagship digital platform, iHeartRadio, the company provides listeners with free and subscription-based access to thousands of live radio stations, curated music playlists and on-demand podcasts.

Originally founded in 1972 as Clear Channel Communications, the business rebranded to iHeartMedia in 2014 to reflect the growing importance of its digital and event-driven offerings.