News (NASDAQ:NWS) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• News Corp crossed above its 200-day moving average (200‑day MA $29.06), trading as high as $29.75 and last at $29.65 on volume of about 880,779 shares.
• Analyst sentiment has soured recently — Zacks and Weiss downgraded the stock to Hold, and MarketBeat's consensus rating is currently "Hold".
• News beat quarterly EPS estimates with $0.40 EPS vs. $0.25 expected and reported $2.31B revenue; the company also paid a $0.10 per-share dividend and has a market cap of $16.47 billion (P/E 14.61).

News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $29.06 and traded as high as $29.75. News shares last traded at $29.65, with a volume of 880,779 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on NWS. Zacks Research downgraded News from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded News from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

News Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $16.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.69.

News (NASDAQ:NWS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.15. News had a return on equity of 5.94% and a net margin of 13.35%.The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that News Corporation will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 73.0%. News's dividend payout ratio is 9.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On News

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in News by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 268,349 shares of the company's stock worth $7,971,000 after buying an additional 101,018 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in News during the fourth quarter worth $454,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in News by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,906,428 shares of the company's stock worth $56,487,000 after buying an additional 362,355 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in News by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 28,572 shares of the company's stock worth $847,000 after buying an additional 4,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in News by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 20,132 shares of the company's stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 2,122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.63% of the company's stock.

About News

News Corporation NASDAQ: NWS is a global media and information services company engaged in news and digital real estate, book publishing and other media businesses. The company's operations include print and digital newsbrands, business and financial information services, consumer platforms for property listings, and a major book publishing arm. Through its subsidiaries and brands, News Corp produces news content, market and financial reporting, online real-estate marketplaces and trade and consumer publishing products.

Key areas of activity include news and information, where the company publishes national and regional newspapers and operates business information services; book publishing through a well-known global publisher; and property-related digital businesses that operate online marketplaces for real estate listings.

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