FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.34 EPS

Key Points

• FOX beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $1.32 versus the $0.98 consensus estimate. That was also above the $1.10 EPS posted in the same quarter last year.
• Revenue declined 8.6% from a year earlier, even as profitability remained solid with a net margin of 11.41% and return on equity of 18.14%.
• Analysts remain cautious overall, with the stock carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $72.93. Insider selling was also notable, including large share sales by CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch and COO John Nallen.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.34, Briefing.com reports. FOX had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 18.14%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share.

FOX Stock Performance

FOXA opened at $62.94 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $26.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.75 and a beta of 0.52. FOX has a 52 week low of $50.03 and a 52 week high of $76.39. The business's 50 day moving average is $60.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.79. The company has a quick ratio of 2.44, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FOXA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research cut FOX from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Argus upgraded FOX to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of FOX in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup boosted their target price on FOX from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on FOX from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.93.

Insider Activity at FOX

In other news, CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch sold 637,752 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.20, for a total transaction of $37,117,166.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,846.40. This trade represents a 99.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO John Nallen sold 216,806 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.68, for a total transaction of $12,505,370.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 362,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,892,042.08. This trade represents a 37.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 1,586,871 shares of company stock valued at $91,893,926 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 19.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of FOX

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in FOX by 72.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,821,284 shares of the company's stock worth $101,948,000 after acquiring an additional 762,645 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FOX by 624.5% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 281,126 shares of the company's stock worth $15,753,000 after purchasing an additional 242,321 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in FOX by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 350,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,661,000 after buying an additional 49,963 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in FOX by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 276,831 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,457,000 after buying an additional 46,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its stake in FOX by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 107,661 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,836,000 after buying an additional 33,997 shares during the period. 52.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FOX Company Profile

Fox Corporation NASDAQ: FOXA is a U.S.-based media company focused on television broadcasting, cable news and sports programming, and digital distribution. The company was formed in 2019 as the successor to certain assets of 21st Century Fox after a transaction that transferred many film and television studio assets to The Walt Disney Company. Fox Corp's operations center on the Fox Broadcasting network, a portfolio of local television stations, national news and business cable networks, and sports media properties.

Fox produces, acquires and distributes a range of live and recorded programming, including news, opinion and commentary, national and local sports telecasts, and general entertainment.

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