Vestcor Inc Boosts Holdings in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc significantly increased its holdings in News Corporation by 2,873.4% during the first quarter, owning 136,510 shares worth approximately $3.7 million at the end of the reporting period.
• News Corporation reported a missed earnings estimate with $0.17 EPS for the quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.19, despite a revenue increase of 0.8% year-over-year.
• The stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" from analysts, with price targets ranging from $37.00 to $45.00, indicating a generally positive outlook despite recent price adjustments.

Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 2,873.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 136,510 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 131,919 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in News were worth $3,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in News in the first quarter valued at about $762,000. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of News during the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of News by 199.8% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,033,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,120,000 after buying an additional 688,515 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of News by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 73,505 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,001,000 after purchasing an additional 4,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of News by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 13,793 shares of the company's stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company's stock.

News Price Performance

NWSA stock traded down $0.23 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.09. 2,872,101 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,411,190. The company has a 50-day moving average of $28.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.00. The company has a market capitalization of $16.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.83 and a beta of 1.23. News Corporation has a twelve month low of $23.38 and a twelve month high of $30.75. 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:NWSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.02). News had a return on equity of 5.64% and a net margin of 5.18%. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that News Corporation will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of News in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of News from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $39.20.

News Company 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.