News Corporation $NWSA Shares Bought by Mangrove Partners IM LLC

Key Points

• Mangrove Partners IM LLC increased its stake in News Corporation by 125.2% in Q3, purchasing 662,654 shares to hold 1,191,858 shares (~$36.6M), about 3.0% of the fund’s portfolio.
• News beat Q expectations with $0.40 EPS vs. $0.33 consensus and revenue up 5.5% year-over-year; the stock trades near $23.70, with a market cap of $13.16B and a P/E of 11.67.
• Analysts show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $37.02 (four Buy, three Hold), though several firms have recently adjusted ratings and targets.

Mangrove Partners IM LLC lifted its stake in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 125.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,191,858 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 662,654 shares during the period. News accounts for about 3.0% of Mangrove Partners IM LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Mangrove Partners IM LLC owned approximately 0.21% of News worth $36,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWSA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of News by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,171,790 shares of the company's stock worth $1,550,546,000 after acquiring an additional 407,293 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its position in News by 7.3% during the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 29,170,531 shares of the company's stock worth $866,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,980,941 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in News by 39.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,875,615 shares of the company's stock worth $456,830,000 after purchasing an additional 4,214,562 shares during the period. 59 North Capital Management LP raised its stake in News by 13.5% during the second quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 12,650,867 shares of the company's stock worth $375,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503,213 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in News by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,154,121 shares of the company's stock valued at $300,578,000 after purchasing an additional 208,692 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NWSA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on News from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research upgraded News from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $32.40 price target on News in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut News from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.02.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NWSA stock opened at $23.70 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $24.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.81. News Corporation has a one year low of $22.20 and a one year high of $31.61. The firm has a market cap of $13.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 0.98.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.07. News had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that News Corporation will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 83.0%. News's payout ratio is presently 9.85%.

News Company Profile

News Corporation NASDAQ: NWSA is a global diversified media and information services company headquartered in New York City. It operates through two principal segments: News and Information Services, and Digital Real Estate Services. The company's news and information division oversees a portfolio of leading newspapers, magazines and digital platforms, offering content across print and online channels. Its properties include Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron's, News UK titles such as The Times and The Sun, as well as News Corp Australia mastheads.

In addition to its journalism assets, News Corp is a significant player in book publishing through HarperCollins, one of the world's largest consumer publishers.

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