News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Given Buy (B) Rating at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• News Corporation's stock has received a reaffirmed "buy (B)" rating from Weiss Ratings, along with varying ratings from other analysts, including an "overweight" rating and a "neutral" rating.
• The company's most recent earnings report showed a earnings per share of $0.19, matching analyst expectations, with a revenue of $2.11 billion, slightly above estimates.
• Institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in News, with AQR Capital Management boosting its holdings by 488% recently.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b)" rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of News from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $32.70 price target on shares of News in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, News currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $38.62.

News Stock Down 1.3%

NWSA stock opened at $27.02 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.72. News has a 1-year low of $23.38 and a 1-year high of $31.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.43. The firm has a market cap of $15.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 1.17.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.19. 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 analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that News will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On News

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NWSA. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in News by 488.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,124,507 shares of the company's stock worth $241,054,000 after purchasing an additional 6,742,836 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in News in the second quarter worth about $195,910,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in News in the first quarter worth about $85,213,000. 59 North Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in News by 24.4% in the first quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 11,147,654 shares of the company's stock worth $303,439,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,542 shares during the period. Finally, Dodge & Cox raised its position in News by 18.7% in the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,846,298 shares of the company's stock worth $376,896,000 after acquiring an additional 2,183,613 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company's stock.

News Company Profile

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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