News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) Receives $38.12 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.34.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.70 target price on shares of News in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of News in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut News from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th.

News Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $29.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $16.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.10. News has a fifty-two week low of $23.38 and a fifty-two week high of $30.75.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. News had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 5.66%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that News will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a half year 25 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 70.0%. News’s payout ratio is presently 9.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On News

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in News by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 59,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,634,000 after buying an additional 4,493 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in News by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in News during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,171,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in News by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 22,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 8,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of News in the fourth quarter worth approximately $214,000. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About News

News Corporation, a media and information services company, creates and distributes authoritative and engaging content, and other products and services for consumers and businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other.