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

Key Points

• News Corp has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating: Five of six covering analysts recommend buying the stock, while one recommends holding it. The average 12-month price target is $38.50, above the reported share price of $30.38.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: News reported earnings of $0.35 per share versus the $0.21 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $2.34 billion and grew 10.8% year over year.
• Institutional ownership is substantial: Institutional investors hold 66.97% of News Corp’s shares, with several major funds recently increasing their positions.

Shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.50.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of News from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of News in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research lowered News from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup decreased their price target on News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded News from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th.

News Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $30.38 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $16.44 billion, a PE ratio of 29.50 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $27.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.87. News has a 1-year low of $22.20 and a 1-year high of $31.61.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. News had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 7.09%. The business's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that News will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a yield of 68.0%. News's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.42%.

Institutional Trading of News

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of News during the 4th quarter valued at $188,788,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in News by 488.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,124,507 shares of the company's stock worth $241,054,000 after acquiring an additional 6,742,836 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in News by 2,348.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,664,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,961,000 after acquiring an additional 5,433,332 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in News by 16.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,356,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $965,673,000 after purchasing an additional 4,448,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in News by 46.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,706,339 shares of the company's stock worth $236,662,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449,552 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company's stock.

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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