News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Shares Break Above 200-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• News Corp. shares broke above their 200-day moving average, reaching $28.72 and last trading near $28.64, compared with the $27.14 average.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with five Buy ratings and one Hold rating producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $38.50 target price.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.35 in earnings per share versus estimates of $0.21 and revenue of $2.34 billion, up 10.8% year over year.

Shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $27.14 and traded as high as $28.72. News shares last traded at $28.64, with a volume of 3,385,562 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NWSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of News from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of News from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of News in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of News from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, News presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.50.

News Trading Down 0.0%

The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.50 billion, a PE ratio of 27.81 and a beta of 0.97.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.14. News had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 6.35%.The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that News Corporation will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 68.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. News's payout ratio is presently 19.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On News

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of News in the fourth quarter valued at $188,788,000. Metropolis Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of News by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 8,835,157 shares of the company's stock worth $220,260,000 after buying an additional 1,843,900 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in News by 80.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,069,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,819,652 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in News by 120.6% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,326,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,002,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in News by 174.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,911,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,648 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company's stock.

News Company Profile

News Corp NASDAQ: NWSA is a global media and information-services company that creates and distributes news, business information, books, digital content and real estate services. Its operations serve consumers, professionals, institutions and businesses across the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and other international markets.

The company's Dow Jones division provides business and financial news, data and information through publications and platforms including The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, MarketWatch, Factiva and Dow Jones Newswires.

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