WINTON GROUP Ltd Acquires New Stake in News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake of 192,988 shares in News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA) in Q3, valued at approximately $5.93 million, as institutional investors now own about 66.97% of the company.
• News Corp. beat Q results with $0.40 EPS vs. $0.33 expected and revenue of $2.36 billion (up 5.5% year-over-year); analysts forecast ~0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $37.02, though recent price targets vary (examples: Morgan Stanley $32.40, Guggenheim $43, JPMorgan $38) and ratings are mixed (four Buys, three Holds).

WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 192,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,927,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NWSA. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in shares of News in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in News during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in News by 120.0% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 954 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in News by 87.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,396 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of News during the 3rd quarter worth about $89,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NWSA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $32.40 price objective on shares of News in a report on Friday, February 6th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of News from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of News from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on News from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.02.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NWSA stock opened at $24.54 on Tuesday. News Corporation has a one year low of $22.20 and a one year high of $31.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.06 and a 200-day moving average of $26.54. The company has a market cap of $13.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 0.98.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.07. News had a return on equity of 5.94% and a net margin of 13.35%.The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. News's revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that News Corporation will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 83.0%. News's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.85%.

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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