Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Takes $1.27 Million Position in News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Pallas Capital Advisors LLC made a notable investment of $1.27 million in News Corporation, acquiring 42,813 shares during the second quarter.
• News Corporation reported a quarterly revenue of $2.11 billion, slightly exceeding analyst expectations, with earnings per share coming in at $0.19.
• The company announced a half-year dividend of $0.10 per share, representing a dividend yield of 70%, set to be paid on October 8th.

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 42,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,272,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NWSA. Asset Value Investors Ltd bought a new position in News in the fourth quarter worth approximately $122,391,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in News during the first quarter valued at $85,213,000. 59 North Capital Management LP lifted its stake in News by 24.4% during the first quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 11,147,654 shares of the company's stock worth $303,439,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,542 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in News by 18.7% during the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,846,298 shares of the company's stock worth $376,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,183,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of News by 34.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,450,150 shares of the company's stock worth $121,133,000 after buying an additional 1,133,004 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company's stock.

News Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $30.71. 520,998 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,400,309. The company has a market cap of $17.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 1.18. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $29.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.24. 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 Corporation has a twelve month low of $23.38 and a twelve month high of $30.86.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. News had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 5.66%. The firm's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that News Corporation will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a half year 25 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 70.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. News's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWSA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on News from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $32.70 price objective on shares of News in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $38.62.

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.