Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Position in News Corporation $NWS

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its News Corp. position by 2.7% in the first quarter, adding 46,837 shares to own 1.76 million shares valued at approximately $50.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 14.63% of the company.
• News Corp. reported quarterly EPS of $0.21, beating estimates by $0.07, while revenue of $2.08 billion fell short of the $2.12 billion consensus forecast.
• NWS shares opened at $31.27, versus a 52-week range of $25.49 to $35.58. Analyst sentiment remains moderately bullish, with one Buy and one Hold rating.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,761,977 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 46,837 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.32% of News worth $50,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in News during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in News during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Arax Advisory Partners purchased a new stake in shares of News in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of News by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,629 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of News by 74.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,056 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 878 shares during the last quarter. 14.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NWS opened at $31.27 on Monday. News Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.49 and a 52 week high of $35.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.22. The company has a market cap of $17.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

News (NASDAQ:NWS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.12 billion. News had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 12.92%. Research analysts predict that News Corporation will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NWS shares. Weiss Ratings raised News from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of News from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

News Company 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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