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

The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.40.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of New York Times in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of New York Times from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of New York Times from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th.

Insider Activity

In other New York Times news, EVP William Bardeen sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.83, for a total transaction of $142,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at $950,595.41. This represents a 13.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO R Anthony Benten sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.75, for a total value of $112,932.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 39,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,252,123.75. This trade represents a 4.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,490 shares of company stock valued at $479,728. Insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New York Times

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NYT. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in New York Times by 7.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of New York Times by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,895 shares of the company's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of New York Times by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 19,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $999,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of New York Times by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 54,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,069,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valueworks LLC increased its position in shares of New York Times by 0.3% during the first quarter. Valueworks LLC now owns 88,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,411,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. 95.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

New York Times Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of New York Times stock traded down $0.55 on Thursday, hitting $53.30. 2,168,813 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,426,620. New York Times has a 12-month low of $44.83 and a 12-month high of $58.16. The company has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $55.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.99.

New York Times (NYSE:NYT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.06. New York Times had a return on equity of 18.70% and a net margin of 11.53%. The business had revenue of $635.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $634.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that New York Times will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

New York Times Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. New York Times's payout ratio is 39.13%.

About New York Times

The New York Times Company, together with its subsidiaries, creates, collects, and distributes news and information worldwide. The company operates through two segments, The New York Times Group and The Athletic. It offers The New York Times (The Times) through company's mobile application, website, printed newspaper, and associated content, such as podcast.