The Walt Disney Co. is gearing up for a much-anticipated annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, with Wall Street closely watching a showdown between CEO Bob Iger and critical shareholders, led by Nelson Peltz who is pushing for seats on the Hollywood giant’s board.What will the result mean for the entertainment conglomerate and Disney shares? Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris addressed that topic ahead of the meeting in a Wednesday morning report entitled “All Ears on Shareholder Vote Today,” in which he maintained his “buy” rating, but boosted his Disney stock price target by $15 to $140.“We expect the Disney-proposed board nominees to win election, though the vote outcome is unlikely to impact near-term operating trends or financial results regardless of outcome,” Morris said. “With this in mind, we update our Walt Disney model to better reflect
- Momentum at the company’s domestic and international parks and experiences,
- Continued pressures at linear networks, and
- An incrementally more back-half weighted cadence at content sales/licensing and other.” The latter is due to the company’s timing of theatrical releases.
All in all, the expert raised his segment operating income for the just-ended quarter at Disney’s Experiences unit from $2.2 billion to $2.3 billion. “This increase is offset by our lower linear networks and content sales/ licensing estimates,” leaving his total company operating income forecast “largely unchanged at $3.68 billion,” the analyst wrote.“Our $140 price target, up from $125 prior, reflects our confidence in the long-term strength and potential for [theme] parks growth and the renewed focus on profitable growth at the company’s media and entertainment assets,” Guggenheim’s Morris explained.Disney’s stock jumped when analysts boosted their price targets after a strong quarterly earnings report in February. Year-to-date, Disney’s stock is up more than 30 percent.Bank of America analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich had on Monday also boosted her Disney stock price rating by $15 to $145, citing “momentum across the business.” She predicted upcoming quarterly earnings “to reflect a continuation of the strong underlying momentum reported in the fiscal first quarter.”The BofA expert raised her fiscal year 2025 and 2026 financial estimates. Concluded Reif Ehrlich: “Since returning as CEO in Nov ’22, Bob Iger now appears to be in command and control and on a growth offensive. Having spent the past year restructuring the company, he is now focused on multiple bullish drivers for the company.”
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