News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on NWSA. Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded shares of News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of News from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, News presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.80.

News Stock Down 0.4%

NWSA opened at $28.15 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. News has a twelve month low of $23.38 and a twelve month high of $30.69. The stock has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.56 and a beta of 1.30.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.02). News had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.13 EPS. News’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that News will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On News

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NWSA. HBK Investments L P boosted its position in shares of News by 0.8% in the first quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 1,110,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,214,000 after acquiring an additional 9,250 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its stake in News by 105.7% in the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 21,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 11,003 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in News in the 1st quarter valued at $365,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of News by 79.1% during the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 335,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,126,000 after purchasing an additional 148,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of News by 48.6% in the first quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 337,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,194,000 after purchasing an additional 110,472 shares during the period. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

News Company Profile

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.