News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• News Corporation has an average analyst rating of Moderate Buy from six firms (three hold, three buy) and a 12‑month consensus price target of $37.02 while the stock traded near $25.97 (12‑month range $22.20–$31.61).
• The company beat last quarter's expectations, reporting EPS of $0.40 versus $0.33 expected and revenue of $2.36 billion versus $2.30 billion, with revenue up 5.5% year‑over‑year.
• News paid a $0.10 dividend (record date March 11) and is largely institutionally owned (about 66.97%); the shares carry a market cap of $14.42 billion and a trailing PE of 12.79.

News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.02.

NWSA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of News from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of News from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of News from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of News from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $32.40 target price on shares of News in a research note on Friday, February 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On News

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in News by 0.9% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 42,496 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,305,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in News by 2.9% during the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 14,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC grew its stake in News by 4.3% during the third quarter. Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC now owns 11,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in News by 1.3% during the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 36,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its position in News by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 11,521 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $25.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.16 and a 200 day moving average of $25.43. The company has a market cap of $14.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 0.91. News has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $31.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.07. News had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that News will post 0.97 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a yield of 83.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. News's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.85%.

About News

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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