News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Hits Estimates

Key Points

• News Corporation reported earnings of $0.19 per share, in line with analysts' expectations, and achieved a return on equity of 5.64%.
• The company will pay a $0.10 per share dividend to shareholders on October 8th, with a dividend payout ratio currently at 23.26%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for News, with a consensus "Buy" rating and a price target range from $37.00 to $45.00.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19, Zacks reports. News had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 13.21%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis.

News Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA traded down $0.39 during trading on Thursday, reaching $29.05. 2,114,257 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,286,524. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $16.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.04. News has a fifty-two week low of $23.38 and a fifty-two week high of $30.75.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a half year 25 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. This represents a dividend yield of 70.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. News's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On News

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWSA. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in News by 44.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 16,618 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 5,106 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of News during the first quarter valued at about $204,000. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in News during the first quarter worth $206,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of News by 5.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,556 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on NWSA. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of News from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Macquarie reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.70 price target on shares of News in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of News in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, News has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.12.

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.