59 North Capital Management LP Reduces Stock Holdings in News Corporation $NWS

Key Points

• 59 North Capital Management LP cut its stake in News Corporation by 39.6% in Q3, selling 1,402,008 shares and leaving it with 2,141,709 shares (about 0.38% of News) valued at roughly $73.996 million; News is ~2.3% of 59 North's holdings and its 12th largest position.
• News beat expectations in the latest quarter with $0.40 EPS versus a $0.25 consensus and $2.31 billion in revenue, and announced a $0.10 per-share dividend payable April 8 with an ex-dividend date of March 11.
• The stock trades near $26.76 with a market cap of $14.86 billion and a P/E of 13.18, and recent analyst actions have pushed its average rating to a "Strong Buy".

59 North Capital Management LP lessened its holdings in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS - Free Report) by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,141,709 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,402,008 shares during the quarter. News accounts for approximately 2.3% of 59 North Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. 59 North Capital Management LP owned 0.38% of News worth $73,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NWS. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in News by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,032 shares of the company's stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in News by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the company's stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of News by 8.9% in the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,480 shares of the company's stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of News by 10.6% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 4,014 shares of the company's stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of News by 15.5% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,027 shares of the company's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.63% of the company's stock.

News Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NWS stock opened at $26.76 on Friday. News Corporation has a 1-year low of $25.49 and a 1-year high of $35.58. The company has a market cap of $14.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.91.

News (NASDAQ:NWS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. News had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 5.94%. On average, equities research analysts expect that News Corporation will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 73.0%. News's payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NWS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of News from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of News from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Strong Buy".

News Profile

News Corporation NASDAQ: NWS is a global media and information services company engaged in news and digital real estate, book publishing and other media businesses. The company's operations include print and digital newsbrands, business and financial information services, consumer platforms for property listings, and a major book publishing arm. Through its subsidiaries and brands, News Corp produces news content, market and financial reporting, online real-estate marketplaces and trade and consumer publishing products.

Key areas of activity include news and information, where the company publishes national and regional newspapers and operates business information services; book publishing through a well-known global publisher; and property-related digital businesses that operate online marketplaces for real estate listings.

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