Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Sony “Hold” on average: Seven analysts include four buys, two holds and one sell, with an average 12-month price target of $22.00.
• Insiders have been selling shares: Company insiders sold 771,838 shares worth approximately $16.9 million over the past 90 days, while insiders own 7% of the stock.
• Quarterly results were mixed: Sony’s revenue rose 8.3% year over year to $19.15 billion and exceeded estimates, but earnings per share of $0.09 fell short of the $0.22 consensus forecast.

Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.00.

A number of research firms have commented on SONY. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Sony in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Sony in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravi Ahuja sold 36,826 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.08, for a total value of $776,292.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 58,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,239,208.88. The trade was a 38.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Toshimoto Mitomo sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total transaction of $525,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 115,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,432,014. This represents a 17.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 771,838 shares of company stock valued at $16,866,580 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Sony

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SONY. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sony by 136.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,908 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in Sony by 8.3% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 6,272 shares of the company's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Sony during the second quarter worth $802,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Sony during the second quarter worth $4,349,000. Finally, 55 North Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sony in the 2nd quarter valued at $259,000. Institutional investors own 14.05% of the company's stock.

Sony Stock Performance

NYSE SONY traded down $0.33 during trading on Thursday, reaching $22.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,303,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,120,714. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $21.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.57. Sony has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $30.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -114.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Sony (NYSE:SONY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $19.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.43 billion. Sony had a positive return on equity of 12.20% and a negative net margin of 2.61%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $32.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sony will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Sony

Sony Group Corporation NYSE: SONY is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, Sony has grown from an electronics maker into a diversified global company with operations spanning consumer electronics, entertainment, gaming, semiconductors and financial services. The company’s shares trade in Japan and its American Depositary Receipts trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SONY.

Sony’s primary businesses include Electronics Products & Solutions, which covers televisions, audio equipment, digital cameras and professional broadcast systems; Game & Network Services, anchored by the PlayStation platform, consoles, software and online services; Music and Pictures, through Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment, producing, distributing and licensing recorded music, film and television content; Imaging & Sensing Solutions, which develops CMOS image sensors and other semiconductor components; and Financial Services, offering life insurance, banking and other financial products in Japan.

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