Whitebox Advisors LLC Has $1.71 Million Position in News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Whitebox Advisors cut its News Corp. position by 72.4% in the first quarter, selling 179,303 shares and retaining 68,507 shares valued at approximately $1.71 million. Institutional investors collectively own 66.97% of the company.
• News Corp. reported quarterly EPS of $0.21 versus the $0.16 consensus, while revenue rose 8.8% year over year to $2.19 billion, exceeding estimates of $2.11 billion.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with the stock carrying an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $37.14, compared with its reported share price of $26.76.

Whitebox Advisors LLC cut its holdings in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) by 72.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,507 shares of the company's stock after selling 179,303 shares during the period. Whitebox Advisors LLC's holdings in News were worth $1,708,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in News by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,356,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $965,673,000 after buying an additional 4,448,929 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of News by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 29,934,048 shares of the company's stock worth $781,877,000 after buying an additional 1,137,691 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of News by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,458,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $272,169,000 after acquiring an additional 88,157 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of News by 11.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,072,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $278,607,000 after acquiring an additional 947,687 shares during the period. Finally, Metropolis Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of News by 26.4% in the first quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 8,835,157 shares of the company's stock worth $220,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company's stock.

News Price Performance

Shares of NWSA stock opened at $26.76 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $14.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 0.89. News Corporation has a one year low of $22.20 and a one year high of $31.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.59.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.05. News had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 6.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that News Corporation will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on NWSA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of News from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of News from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of News from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of News in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, News presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $37.14.

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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