Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes Position in News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Institutional interest increased: The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought 34,731 News Corp shares worth approximately $975,000. Institutional investors collectively own 66.97% of NWSA.
• News Corp exceeded quarterly expectations: The company reported adjusted earnings of $0.35 per share versus the $0.21 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 10.8% year over year to $2.34 billion.
• Analysts remain generally positive: NWSA has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $38.50, compared with a recent share price of $29.82. The company also declared a $0.10 per-share dividend.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 34,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $975,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NWSA. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of News during the 4th quarter valued at about $188,788,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of News by 488.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,124,507 shares of the company's stock worth $241,054,000 after buying an additional 6,742,836 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in News by 2,348.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,664,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,961,000 after buying an additional 5,433,332 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in News by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,356,593 shares of the company's stock worth $965,673,000 after acquiring an additional 4,448,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of News by 46.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,706,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,662,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449,552 shares in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

News Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA opened at $29.82 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $28.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.49. News Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $22.20 and a fifty-two week high of $31.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market cap of $16.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.95 and a beta of 0.91.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. News had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 6.35%.The business's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that News Corporation will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 67.0%. News's payout ratio is presently 19.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of News from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on News from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research cut News from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of News in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.50.

News 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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