Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in News Corporation by 60.2%, acquiring an additional 134,148 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately $10.84 million.
• Other institutional investors also boosted their positions in News Corporation, with Independent Franchise Partners LLP and Vanguard Group Inc. increasing their holdings significantly in the fourth quarter.
• News Corporation reported earnings of $0.17 per share, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.22, despite generating revenues of $2.01 billion for the quarter.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS - Free Report) by 60.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 356,975 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 134,148 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of News worth $10,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NWS. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its holdings in News by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 9,649,717 shares of the company's stock worth $293,641,000 after buying an additional 627,774 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of News by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,535,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $198,867,000 after purchasing an additional 138,680 shares in the last quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of News by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 4,345,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,237,000 after purchasing an additional 986,781 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of News by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,855,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,799,000 after purchasing an additional 13,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of News by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,965,125 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,799,000 after purchasing an additional 160,922 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.63% of the company's stock.

News Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NWS traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.25. The stock had a trading volume of 576,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 577,350. News Corporation has a 1-year low of $26.04 and a 1-year high of $35.41. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $33.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.11. The company has a market cap of $18.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.66 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

News (NASDAQ:NWS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.05). News had a net margin of 5.18% and a return on equity of 5.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. Equities research analysts expect that News Corporation will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

About News

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.