In this article, we will take a look at the 12 best entertainment stocks to buy for 2024. To skip our analysis of the recent trends, and market activity, you can go directly to see the 5 Best Entertainment Stocks to Buy for 2024.
The entertainment industry is further divided into sub-industries including movies and entertainment, which includes companies focused on production and distribution of movies and television shows, and Interactive Home Entertainment, which includes producers of educational and interactive gaming products.
Studios and video streaming services must deal with the challenge of market disruption. As per Deloitte, companies in the media and entertainment industries are not only vying against each other for audience attention, time, and revenue, but also against social media, user-generated content, and video games. The latter have advanced more rapidly and have remained popular among younger age groups. You can read more about this in our article: 12 Best Entertainment Stocks To Buy In 2023
Recent years haven’t been good for the entertainment industry. Several entertainment industry stocks had to tread through choppy waters due to several reasons. Last year we saw strikes from Hollywood writers and actors which brought content production to a standstill. On the other hand, persistent issues of advertising market weakness and ‘cord-cutting’ continued to burden profitability for the industry participants. For the uninitiated, cord-cutting refers to the behavior of viewers cancelling their subscriptions to multichannel television services available over cable or satellite, in favor of other forms of media services. A new potential threat as well as opportunity has arisen recently in the form of generative artificial intelligence. On the one hand, it can improve productivity, on the other it can raise challenges like trust, accuracy, privacy, and fairness.
Companies in the entertainment industry have been forced to take measures to protect shareholder value in the face of these challenges. Some of the players in the market are reportedly seeking consolidation opportunities in a bid to use scale to fight off adversity. Other industry participants have opted for innovative opportunities to increase revenues and profitability. For instance, the streaming giant Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) tightened the control on password sharing and introduced advertisement supporting tier of membership at a lower fee to attract the bargain hunters. In addition, companies have slashed their content budgets to improve their profitability.
Our list of 12 best entertainment stocks to buy for 2024 includes some of the most notable names in the entertainment industry. The list includes UFC and WWE operator TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:TKO), the leading record label company Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG), ticketing and live entertainment leader Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV), and the streaming leader, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), among others. With the exception of a few, majority of the stocks on the list have a history of paying regular dividends to their shareholders.
Best Entertainment Stocks to Buy for 2024
Methodology
We scanned Insider Monkey’s database of 933 hedge funds and picked the top 12 companies that operate in the entertainment industry with the highest number of hedge fund investors. We have ranked our picks in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that have positions in them.
Hedge funds’ top 10 consensus stock picks outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). That’s why we pay very close attention to this often-ignored indicator.
TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:TKO) is a premium sports and entertainment company that comprises UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, and WWE, an integrated media organization and the recognized global leader in sports entertainment. It is majority owned by Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EDR).
On February 14, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:TKO) shares with a price target of $95 and an ‘Equal weight’ rating for the shares. The target price represents a potential upside of 12.48% based on the latest share price.
As of Q4 2023, 34 of the 933 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey owned TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:TKO) shares valued at a combined total of $853 million.
Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) is a multinational entertainment and record label company operating some of the largest and most famous labels in the world, including Atlantic, Elektra, Parlophone and Warner Records. It is also home to Warner Chappell Music – one of the world’s leading music publishers, with a catalog of more than 1.4 million copyrights.
On February 7, Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) released its financial results for three months ended December 31, 2023. Its revenue increased by 17% y-o-y to $1.7 billion, while net income surged 56% y-o-y to $193 million.
The Board of Directors of the company declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.17 per share on February 12. The annualized dividend represents a dividend yield of 1.98%, the second highest on our list of 12 best entertainment stocks to buy for 2024.
Fox Corporation (NASDAQ:FOXA) produces and distributes news, sports, and entertainment content through its primary iconic domestic brands, including FOX News Media, FOX Sports, FOX Entertainment, FOX Television Stations and Tubi Media Group.
On February 7, Fox Corporation (NASDAQ:FOXA) reported the financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2023. It generated a revenue of $4.2 billion and a net income of $115 million. Normalized EPS of $0.34 for the quarter surpassed the consensus estimates by $0.22.
Following the earnings release, Citigroup raised the price target for Fox Corporation (NASDAQ:FOXA) shares to $35 from $34 and raised the rating for its shares to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’.
New York-based News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) is a global, diversified media and information services company. Its businesses include digital real estate services, subscription video services in Australia, news and information services and book publishing.
On February 7, News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) released its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2023. Its revenue increased by 3% y-o-y to $2.6 billion while it generated a net income of $183 million. Its normalized EPS of $0.26 exceeded consensus estimates by $0.05.
According to the Insider Monkey data on 933 leading hedge funds, 38 hedge funds were long News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) shares as of Q4 2023. Donald Yacktman’s Yacktman Asset Management was the largest hedge fund shareholder with ownership of 16.7 million shares valued at $411 million.
Atlanta Braves Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:BATRK), through its wholly owned subsidiary, is the owner and operator of the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball Club and the mixed-use real estate development, The Battery Atlanta, and is the operator of the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball Club’s stadium, Truist Park.
On July 18, Atlanta Braves Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:BATRK) completed its split-off from Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ:LXSMA). Following that, the company became an independent entity and its shares started trading on the NASDAQ.
As of Q4 2023, Atlanta Braves Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:BATRK) shares were held by 40 hedge funds with the total shares held by them valued at $616 million.
Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) is a leading global media and entertainment company comprising studios, networks, and streaming services, through a portfolio of brands that includes well-known names such as CBS, Showtime Networks, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, Paramount+, Pluto TV and Simon & Schuster, among others.
Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) ranks highest on our list of 12 best entertainment stocks to buy for 2024 based on its dividend yield. Based on the $0.39 per share total dividend paid in 2023, its shares have a dividend yield of 3.52%.
The shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) were owned by 43 hedge funds with a total value of $1.9 billion, as of Q4 2023. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway was the largest shareholder among hedge funds with ownership of 63.3 million shares valued at $937 million.
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) is a leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, and Live Nation Media & Sponsorship. It
On February 22, Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) released its Q4 2023 financial results which showed significant growth. Its revenue increased by 36% y-o-y to $5.8 billion while it generated an EPS of -$1.22, $0.18 below consensus estimates.
As of Q4 2023, Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) shares were held by 45 of the 933 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey with the total shares held by hedge funds valued at $2.9 billion. Robert Joseph Caruso’s Select Equity Group was the lead hedge fund shareholder with ownership of 10.5 million shares valued at $979 million.