News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group upgraded News from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on News from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Guggenheim upped their target price on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded News to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on News in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, News presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $38.80.

News Stock Down 0.2 %

News stock traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $27.06. The stock had a trading volume of 3,020,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,821,182. The company has a market cap of $15.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.07 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The business's 50 day moving average price is $26.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.74. News has a 52 week low of $22.65 and a 52 week high of $30.69.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that News will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. News's payout ratio is 27.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On News

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NWSA. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of News by 2,392.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of News in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of News in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of News in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of News in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.