World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) announced today they’re heading to China. The sports entertainment company has signed a multi-year distribution agreement with PPTV. The arrangement will take effect on June 28, 2016. During this time, WWE fans in China will be able to start accessing Raw and SmackDown content. Fans will have an assortment of options for accessing the content, including downloading the PPTV App. This will enable consumers to watch 3-hours of Raw and 2-hours of SmackDown directly through their televisions, set-top boxes or their mobile devices. WWE content will also be available on PPTV’s associated websites.
According to the company’s press release, PPTV will also design and launch a brand new website for their WWE content for Chinese consumers. Also announced today was WWE’s intention to return to China for their first event in over 3 years! WWE Live 2016 China is scheduled for Saturday September the 10th at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Tickets will be made available to the public on June the 18th at 12PM. A handful of the company’s top superstars, such as John Cena, Sasha Banks, Roman Reigns, Charlotte, and Seth Rollins, will be in attendance for the event. The WWE is also happy to announce their new developmental contract with Bin Wang.
The 22-year-old wrestler measures in at 6-foot-3 and 2220 pounds. He has been training for over 2 years at the Inoki Genome Federation in Japan and will relocate to Orlando, Florida, where he will enjoy the comforts of the innovative WWE Performance Center. The combination proves that Vince McMahon and the WWE are more than willing to expand to other countries in an attempt to expand their customer base and enhance their bottom line. WWE content is now available in more than 180 countries and in 35 languages. According to the company, their content reaches over 650 million homes throughout the world.
In other WWE stock news, KeyBanc lowered their price target from $22 to $21. The analysts currently have an overweight rating for the stock. On Thursday, the company’s stock floated between $18.24 to $18.99, before finally settling at $18.55. The stock price closed with a total increase of 4.15%. The stock has a 52-week range of $14.20 to $23.63. The company is expected to release their next earnings report on August the 4th of 2016. Zacks Investment Research has set the consensus EPS forecast at $.08 based on the forecasts of 2 analysts. For the previous year, the company reported an EPS of $.07 for the same quarter.
For the past 3 quarters, WWE has managed to beat consensus EPS forecasts. On May 10, 2016, the company posted an earnings per share of $.18, which beat consensus forecasts of $.11. And finally, WWE announced a quarterly dividend on April the 22nd of 2016. Stockholders on record as of June the 15th will be paid a .12 cent dividend per share on Monday June the 27th of 2016. The stock has a dividend yield of 2.73%.