iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $4.50.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on IHRT. Bank of America raised their price target on iHeartMedia from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on iHeartMedia from $1.25 to $4.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th.

iHeartMedia Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ IHRT opened at $4.41 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $662.21 million, a P/E ratio of -1.70 and a beta of 1.68. iHeartMedia has a twelve month low of $0.95 and a twelve month high of $5.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.84.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iHeartMedia

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IHRT. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of iHeartMedia in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Sona Asset Management US LLC purchased a new position in iHeartMedia during the third quarter worth about $167,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in iHeartMedia in the third quarter valued at about $221,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in iHeartMedia by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 39,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 13,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in iHeartMedia in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,204,000. 93.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About iHeartMedia

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.