News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) from hold to strong-buy, adding to a generally positive analyst backdrop. The stock now has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $37.14.
• News Corp reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.21 versus estimates of $0.16 and revenue of $2.19 billion versus estimates of $2.11 billion. Revenue also rose 8.8% year over year.
• The company’s shares opened at $27.37, with a market cap of about $14.98 billion and a P/E ratio of 13.62. Institutional ownership remains high, with about 66.97% of shares held by institutional investors.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on NWSA. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of News from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of News in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of News from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, News has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.14.

News Stock Performance

Shares of News stock opened at $27.37 on Thursday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $26.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. News has a 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $31.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 0.89.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. News had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 12.92%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that News will post 0.92 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On News

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in News by 16.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,356,593 shares of the company's stock worth $965,673,000 after purchasing an additional 4,448,929 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of News by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 29,934,048 shares of the company's stock valued at $781,877,000 after buying an additional 1,137,691 shares in the last quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in News by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 14,009,242 shares of the company's stock worth $430,224,000 after buying an additional 1,358,375 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in News by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,458,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $272,169,000 after buying an additional 88,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in News by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,072,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $278,607,000 after buying an additional 947,687 shares in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

News Company Profile

News Corporation NASDAQ: NWSA is a global diversified media and information services company headquartered in New York City. It operates through two principal segments: News and Information Services, and Digital Real Estate Services. The company's news and information division oversees a portfolio of leading newspapers, magazines and digital platforms, offering content across print and online channels. Its properties include Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron's, News UK titles such as The Times and The Sun, as well as News Corp Australia mastheads.

In addition to its journalism assets, News Corp is a significant player in book publishing through HarperCollins, one of the world's largest consumer publishers.

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