Board of the Pension Protection Fund Takes $1.56 Million Position in News Corporation $NWS

Key Points

• The Pension Protection Fund has acquired a new position in News Corporation, purchasing 45,400 shares valued at approximately $1.56 million, which represents about 1.7% of the fund's overall investment portfolio.
• News Corporation's most recent quarterly earnings report indicated earnings per share of $0.19, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.18, with total revenue reaching $2.11 billion.
• The company has announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.10 per share, with a current yield of 63.0%, following a low dividend payout ratio of 9.62%.

Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 45,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,558,000. News makes up about 1.7% of Board of the Pension Protection Fund's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its stake in News by 0.8% in the first quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 9,728,572 shares of the company's stock worth $295,457,000 after purchasing an additional 78,855 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in News by 5.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,879,273 shares of the company's stock worth $208,924,000 after purchasing an additional 344,036 shares in the last quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd boosted its stake in News by 12.3% in the second quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 684,729 shares of the company's stock worth $23,493,000 after purchasing an additional 75,163 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in News by 60.2% in the first quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 356,975 shares of the company's stock worth $10,841,000 after purchasing an additional 134,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in News by 1.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 307,560 shares of the company's stock worth $9,341,000 after purchasing an additional 5,285 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.63% of the company's stock.

News Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NWS opened at $29.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. News Corporation has a 12-month low of $26.25 and a 12-month high of $35.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.08 and a beta of 1.17. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $33.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.54.

News (NASDAQ:NWS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. News had a return on equity of 5.66% and a net margin of 13.21%.The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that News Corporation will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a yield of 63.0%. News's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on NWS shares. Zacks Research raised News from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of News in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy".

News Profile

News Corporation, a media and information services company, creates and distributes authoritative and engaging content, and other products and services for consumers and businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other.

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