228,778 Shares in News Corporation $NWSA Acquired by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC has invested approximately $6.23 million in News Corporation, acquiring 228,778 shares during the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on News Corporation with two holding a "hold" rating, five a "buy" rating, and one a "strong buy," leading to an average price target of $38.34.
• News Corporation reported a net margin of 13.21% and a revenue of $2.11 billion for the last quarter, which exceeded analyst expectations.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 228,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,227,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of News in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,703,000. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of News by 101.1% in the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 318,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,546,000 after buying an additional 160,122 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of News by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of News in the 1st quarter valued at about $300,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of News by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 649,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,892,000 after buying an additional 5,412 shares during the period. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on NWSA. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of News in a report on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of News from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $32.70 target price on shares of News in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.62.

News Price Performance

Shares of NWSA stock traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.50. 2,448,423 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,489,963. News Corporation has a 12 month low of $23.38 and a 12 month high of $30.75. The company has a market cap of $17.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50 day moving average price is $29.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.84.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19. News had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 5.66%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. News's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that News Corporation will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a half year 25 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 70.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. News's payout ratio is 9.62%.

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.