Kentucky Retirement Systems Reduces Stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,525 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,026 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $1,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WBD. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $198,916,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 25,534,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,579,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710,343 shares in the last quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. boosted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 97.6% in the 1st quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. now owns 4,600,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,162,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272,245 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3,010.0% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,538,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. boosted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 42.2% in the 1st quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 4,901,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455,171 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on WBD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $8.50 price objective on the stock. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Macquarie lowered Warner Bros. Discovery from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $7.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, May 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.87.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

NASDAQ WBD traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.31. The stock had a trading volume of 22,906,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,455,124. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $7.73 and its 200 day moving average is $8.54. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.94 and a twelve month high of $14.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.70 and a beta of 1.49.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.16). Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 6.58% and a negative net margin of 7.45%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Bros. Discovery Profile

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Studios, Network, and DTC. The Studios segment produces and releases feature films for initial exhibition in theaters; produces and licenses television programs to its networks and third parties and direct-to-consumer services; distributes films and television programs to various third parties and internal television; and offers streaming services and distribution through the home entertainment market, themed experience licensing, and interactive gaming.