The media and entertainment sector has seen many players in the market over the years. Some newbies have vanished without making a mark as they were not able to withstand the competition from the stalwarts, whereas some of the stable ones have gone through all initial hiccups to become one of the game-changers today. The entertainment industry has been consistently building upon a large customer base with every passing quarter. Investors love to add this portfolio in their kitty due to the excellent performance when compared to other sectors. So if you want to buy a stock from the media and entertainment sector, you can choose from the 3 names mentioned below, as they are highly recommended by the analysts at Jeffries.
Prime Time Hit
Currently, the share prices of CBS Corp (CBS, Financial), one of the best bets for shareholders looking for long term returns, has been trading around the $55 mark per share. Jeffries report predicts the share prices to go up to $65per share this year, because this group has a diversified nature of businesses that will strengthen its performance. It has not only got many programmes to be broadcasted during the peak hours, but also impressive sports programmes lined up all through the year, through its franchises like NFL, The Masters and March Madness College Basketball League, to name a few. All these have ensured that CBS Corp enjoys a monopoly in the network segment for 2015 as well. In a bid to increase shareholders’ worth, CBS has been actively buying back its shares from the market; by 2017, these repurchases would have reduced CBS’s shares floating in the market by 25%. The share price trend given below helps investors to understand why it is currently a strong buy.
Movies and Theme parks
Walt Disney Company (DIS, Financial) is one of the very few media companies today that has multiple sources of income. The share prices are currently trading at $94per share. Jeffries expects that this will go up to $100 per share in 2015, because Walt Disney has strong business dealings that will materialise during this year. It will be releasing a whopping list of 12movies this year (all set to be blockbusters) and it is also planning to open one of the most spectacular theme parks in Shanghai during the end of this year. Both of these will make the share prices soar to great extents; hence it is a wise move to buy Walt Disney stocks right away. Sports programmes on ESPN (ESPN, Financial) and media broadcasts on ABC network (ABC, Financial) have also resulted in increased earnings for the company. These avenues will continue to contribute to the company’s great performance this year as well. This is the share price trend of Walt Disney for the last year:
“Taken” and more!
Movie production & cable and network programmes have been the most successful factors of revenue for Twenty First Century Fox Inc. (FOXA, Financial). Towards the latter part of 2014, it had released the blockbuster movie, “Taken 3” and is still reeling under the positive impact of the same. With an impressive line-up of movies this year as well, Twenty First Century Fox is all set to be one of the top media stocks for 2015. It will continue to have a successful year in the sports network and cable programming segments as well this year. At present the share prices hover around the $35 mark per share. As per expectation from Jeffries, the share prices are all set to touch the $43 mark per share in 2015, making it a must-buy. The following chart explains the share price movements of the company for the last few months.
Conclusion
The media and entertainment sector is one of the most diverse sectors in the market. The above companies have put their eggs in various baskets; hence they benefit hugely from this diversification. These are recommended as must-buys, because they all have interesting business deals that will materialise during 2015, which will shoot up the share prices towards the middle of the year, thereby increasing their shareholders’ worth to a great extent.
