Analysts Set Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) Price Target at $187.75

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $187.75.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Live Nation Entertainment from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $180.00 to $181.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $198.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Citizens Jmp began coverage on Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Monday, March 30th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Live Nation Entertainment news, Director Jeffrey T. Hinson sold 944 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total transaction of $156,581.28. Following the sale, the director owned 48,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,966,736.10. This trade represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Rowles sold 63,776 shares of Live Nation Entertainment stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.24, for a total transaction of $10,474,570.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 204,716 shares in the company, valued at $33,622,555.84. This represents a 23.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 157,798 shares of company stock valued at $26,088,615. 2.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Live Nation Entertainment

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LYV. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 1.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,679,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,378,970,000 after acquiring an additional 372,715 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 3.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,095,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,692,151,000 after purchasing an additional 367,624 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 5,733,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $817,055,000 after purchasing an additional 193,104 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,145,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,829,000 after purchasing an additional 237,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,301,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $610,707,000 after purchasing an additional 20,165 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.52% of the company’s stock.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Live Nation Entertainment stock opened at $167.22 on Friday. Live Nation Entertainment has a 1 year low of $125.34 and a 1 year high of $175.25. The firm has a market cap of $39.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -94.47 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $158.51 and a 200 day moving average of $149.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.93, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.85) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($1.50). Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 0.15% and a return on equity of 45.92%. The company had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.32) earnings per share. Live Nation Entertainment’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Live Nation Entertainment will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Live Nation Entertainment Company Profile

Live Nation Entertainment is a global live entertainment company that promotes, operates and sells tickets for live events. The company’s core activities include concert promotion and production, venue operations and management, ticketing services through its Ticketmaster platform, artist management and development, and sponsorship and advertising services tied to live events. These integrated businesses are designed to connect artists, fans and commercial partners across the live event ecosystem.

The company in its current form was created following the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, combining a promoter and venue operator with one of the industry’s largest ticketing platforms.