Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Buy Rating for Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC has reaffirmed a buy rating for Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) with a price target of $125.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.60% from its previous close.
• Walt Disney recently reported earnings of $1.61 per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.45, although revenues for the quarter were slightly below estimates at $23.65 billion.
• Analysts currently have an average rating of Moderate Buy for Walt Disney, with a consensus price target of $131.18.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $125.00 price objective on the entertainment giant's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective suggests a potential upside of 5.99% from the stock's previous close.

DIS has been the topic of several other reports. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.18.

Walt Disney Price Performance

DIS traded down $0.88 on Thursday, hitting $117.93. 6,668,217 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,294,819. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.72. The business's fifty day moving average is $119.01 and its 200 day moving average is $108.78. Walt Disney has a fifty-two week low of $80.10 and a fifty-two week high of $124.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.55.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.16. Walt Disney had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 9.67%. The company had revenue of $23.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walt Disney will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DIS. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,220,599,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,618,295,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,353,607,000. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new position in Walt Disney during the second quarter worth approximately $725,219,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 1,900.0% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,735,961 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $638,699,000 after purchasing an additional 5,449,158 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company's stock.

Walt Disney Company Profile

The Walt Disney Company operates as an entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Entertainment, Sports, and Experiences. The company produces and distributes film and television video streaming content under the ABC Television Network, Disney, Freeform, FX, Fox, National Geographic, and Star brand television channels, as well as ABC television stations and A+E television networks; and produces original content under the ABC Signature, Disney Branded Television, FX Productions, Lucasfilm, Marvel, National Geographic Studios, Pixar, Searchlight Pictures, Twentieth Century Studios, 20th Television, and Walt Disney Pictures banners.