West Tower Group LLC Boosts Holdings in News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• West Tower Group LLC has increased its shareholding in News Corporation by 83.3% in Q2, gaining a total of 38,454 shares valued at approximately $1.14 million.
• During the recent earnings report, News Corporation reported $0.19 earnings per share, meeting analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter.
• The company has declared a dividend of $0.10 per share and has an average price target of $38.62 according to sell-side analysts.

West Tower Group LLC increased its position in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 83.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,454 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,480 shares during the period. News accounts for about 2.5% of West Tower Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. West Tower Group LLC's holdings in News were worth $1,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NWSA. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of News by 103.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 11,898 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of News during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $241,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of News by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,492,665 shares of the company's stock worth $122,290,000 after buying an additional 72,438 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of News by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,081,305 shares of the company's stock worth $83,873,000 after buying an additional 39,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of News by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 42,621 shares of the company's stock worth $1,133,000 after buying an additional 4,332 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

News Stock Up 0.4%

NWSA stock opened at $26.02 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.41. News Corporation has a 12 month low of $23.38 and a 12 month high of $31.61. The company has a market cap of $14.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

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

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a half year 25 dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 70.0%. News's dividend payout ratio is 9.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of News from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and set a $32.70 price objective on shares of News in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of News in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.62.

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.

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