The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• The New York Times"Moderate Buy" from nine firms (4 hold, 4 buy, 1 strong buy) with a 12-month average price target of $70.86, below the recent market price of about $79.46.
• Q4 results
• Institutional interest is strong—Berkshire Hathaway initiated a roughly $351.7M position while AQR and Wellington increased stakes, leaving institutions owning ~95.4% of shares, even as insiders sold ~27,913 shares in the last 90 days.

Shares of The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.8571.

NYT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of New York Times in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on New York Times from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on New York Times from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup boosted their target price on New York Times from $77.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of New York Times from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th.

New York Times Stock Up 2.0%

NYSE:NYT opened at $79.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's 50 day moving average is $79.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.87. New York Times has a fifty-two week low of $48.52 and a fifty-two week high of $87.10.

New York Times (NYSE:NYT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $802.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $791.55 million. New York Times had a net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 20.73%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. Research analysts forecast that New York Times will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New York Times Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 1st. This is an increase from New York Times's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. New York Times's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO R Anthony Benten sold 1,913 shares of New York Times stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total transaction of $140,739.41. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 37,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,778,886.04. The trade was a 4.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP William Bardeen sold 13,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.56, for a total transaction of $1,034,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,486,260.36. This trade represents a 41.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,913 shares of company stock valued at $2,214,369. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On New York Times

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of New York Times by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,241,489 shares of the company's stock valued at $433,284,000 after buying an additional 1,628,200 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in New York Times by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,211,824 shares of the company's stock worth $361,805,000 after acquiring an additional 441,851 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new position in New York Times in the 4th quarter worth approximately $351,664,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in New York Times by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,027,198 shares of the company's stock worth $348,988,000 after acquiring an additional 116,012 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in New York Times by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,922,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $272,347,000 after acquiring an additional 50,389 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.37% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting New York Times

Here are the key news stories impacting New York Times this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Extensive live coverage of the Israel–Lebanon truce and its aftermath is likely pulling significant traffic and engagement, which can boost short-term ad revenue and subscription conversions. Live Updates: Thousands of Lebanese Try to Head Home After Israel-Lebanon Truce
• Positive Sentiment: Follow-up live updates on the 10-day cease-fire keep readers returning to the site — recurring live coverage tends to increase session depth and subscription sign-ups. Live Updates: 10-Day Cease-Fire Goes Into Effect in Lebanon
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple high-profile sports pieces (The Athletic) — Raptors upset primer, Oilers playoff lineup and LeBron future — are valuable recurring content for The Athletic subscription base and overall reader engagement. Sports exclusives and analysis help retain and acquire subscribers. How the Toronto Raptors could pull off an upset of the Cleveland Cavaliers What are the Edmonton Oilers’ key lineup decisions heading into the playoffs? LeBron James’ future: Retire, stay with Lakers or join Warriors/Cavs? What we know
• Neutral Sentiment: National and regional political reporting (e.g., Texas Senate fundraising, surveillance-law developments) sustains core readership but has mixed direct revenue impact; important for brand and long-term subscription trust. In Texas Senate Race, Talarico Is Out-Raising His G.O.P. Opponents House Votes to Extend Expiring Law on Warrantless Surveillance for 10 Days
• Neutral Sentiment: Arts, culture and feature coverage (reviews, essays, investigative pieces) support engagement and brand differentiation but are lower-frequency drivers of immediate revenue. ‘Proof’ Review: Ayo Edebiri as a Math Girl, Interrupted The Lurid D4vd Case and the Fervid Hunt for Details
• Negative Sentiment: Macroeconomic and sectoral stories (shaky economy, European airlines facing fuel shortages) could signal weaker advertising demand and slower corporate ad spend—an indirect headwind for NYT ad revenue. White House Shrugs Off Shaky Economy as War Exceeds Trump’s Timeline European Airlines Face Fuel Shortages Within Weeks

New York Times Company Profile

The New York Times Company is a publicly traded media organization best known for publishing The New York Times newspaper and operating the NYTimes.com digital platform. The company produces daily print and digital journalism covering national and international news, opinion pieces, feature stories, and multimedia content. Alongside its flagship newspaper, the firm offers a range of subscription-based services, including Times Cooking, NYT Games, podcasts and newsletters, designed to engage a broad audience of readers and advertisers.

Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, The New York Times has built a reputation for in-depth reporting and investigative journalism.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.