The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.00.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NYT shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of New York Times from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of New York Times from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday.

New York Times Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NYT opened at $48.43 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $48.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.21, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.10. New York Times has a 52 week low of $41.55 and a 52 week high of $58.16.

New York Times (NYSE:NYT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.06. New York Times had a return on equity of 18.51% and a net margin of 11.36%. Analysts predict that New York Times will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

New York Times Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a boost from New York Times’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. New York Times’s payout ratio is 40.45%.

Institutional Trading of New York Times

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of New York Times by 511.7% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in New York Times in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in New York Times by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 744 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in New York Times during the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of New York Times by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. 95.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.