FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Key Points

• FOX shares opened higher after the company reported quarterly earnings of $2.54 per share, beating the $2.02 analyst consensus by $0.52. Quarterly revenue increased 22.3% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $76.94; recent ratings ranged from “Sector Weight” to “Strong Buy.”
• CEO Lachlan Murdoch purchased nearly 150,000 FOX shares for approximately $10.3 million, while the company also paid a $0.29-per-share dividend.

Fox Corporation (NASDAQ:FOXA - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $63.24, but opened at $66.37. FOX shares last traded at $64.4270, with a volume of 1,257,810 shares.

The company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.52. FOX had a return on equity of 20.64% and a net margin of 9.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

FOX Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 86.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 2nd. FOX's payout ratio is presently 15.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FOXA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp lowered shares of FOX to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded FOX from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Citizens Jmp started coverage on FOX in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised FOX from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $71.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of FOX to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FOX news, CEO Lachlan Murdoch bought 149,934 shares of FOX stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.53 per share, for a total transaction of $10,274,977.02. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,401,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $96,059,391.89. This represents a 11.98% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 20.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FOXA. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB bought a new position in shares of FOX in the third quarter worth about $44,000. PFS Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FOX during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of FOX by 811.0% during the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 911 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of FOX by 75.7% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of FOX by 99.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,105 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.52% of the company's stock.

FOX Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $65.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.32. The company has a current ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $27.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.60.

About FOX

Fox Corporation NASDAQ: FOXA is a U.S. media and entertainment company that produces and distributes news, sports, and entertainment programming. Its portfolio includes FOX News Media, FOX Sports, FOX Entertainment, FOX Television Stations, and the ad-supported streaming service Tubi.

FOX News Media operates FOX News Channel, FOX Business Network, and related digital platforms. FOX Sports provides national and regional sports programming, while FOX Entertainment develops and distributes scripted and unscripted television content.

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