Squarepoint Ops LLC Buys Shares of 158,569 News Corporation $NWS

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC initiated a position in News Corporation during the second quarter, buying 158,569 shares valued at approximately $4.45 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 14.63% of the company.
• News Corporation reported quarterly EPS of $0.35, exceeding the $0.24 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $2.25 billion in line with expectations.
• Analyst sentiment has improved, with recent upgrades from Zacks Research and Weiss Ratings contributing to a consensus “Strong Buy” rating. The company also announced a $0.10-per-share dividend.

Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 158,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,449,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hartford Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of News by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 7,212 shares of the company's stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in News by 5.3% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in News by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in News by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 19,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in News by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 10,449 shares of the company's stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. 14.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

News Price Performance

NASDAQ:NWS opened at $32.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.70 billion, a PE ratio of 31.76 and a beta of 0.90. News Corporation has a 1-year low of $25.49 and a 1-year high of $35.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

News (NASDAQ:NWS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. News had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 7.09%. On average, research analysts expect that News Corporation will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 60.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. News's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of News from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings raised News from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy".

News Profile

News Corp NASDAQ: NWS is a global media and information services company that operates in digital media, news publishing, book publishing, real estate information and subscription services. Its portfolio serves consumers, businesses and professional audiences across the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and other international markets.

The company's businesses include Dow Jones, which provides business news, financial information and data through publications and services such as The Wall Street Journal and Barron's; News Corp Australia and News UK, which publish newspapers and digital news brands; and the New York Post.

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