News (NASDAQ:NWS) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• News Corporation shares experienced a decline in trading volume, with 810,835 shares traded on Monday, slightly down from 827,360 shares in the previous session.
• Analysts have given mixed ratings for the stock, with a recent upgrade to a "strong sell" by Zacks Research, while the consensus rating remains a "Moderate Buy."
• The company declared a semi-annual dividend of $0.10 per share, set to be paid on October 8th, representing a dividend yield of 63.0% and a payout ratio of 9.62%.

News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 810,835 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the previous session's volume of 827,360 shares.The stock last traded at $32.56 and had previously closed at $32.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Zacks Research raised News to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

News Stock Up 1.8%

The firm's 50 day moving average is $33.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.34. The stock has a market cap of $18.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

News (NASDAQ:NWS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. News had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 5.66%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that News Corporation will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 63.0%. News's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NWS. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of News by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 58,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,771,000 after acquiring an additional 878 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of News by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 37,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 6,821 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of News by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 35,317 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 4,950 shares during the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in News during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in News by 43.9% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 41,176 shares of the company's stock worth $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 12,568 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.63% of the company's stock.

About News

News Corporation, a media and information services company, creates and distributes authoritative and engaging content, and other products and services for consumers and businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other.

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