News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.25.

NWSA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Loop Capital decreased their target price on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th.

Institutional Trading of News

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in News by 2,392.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new stake in News during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in News during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in News during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of News in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

News Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NWSA opened at $27.04 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.34 billion, a PE ratio of 37.04 and a beta of 1.34. News has a 12 month low of $22.65 and a 12 month high of $30.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $28.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. On average, analysts anticipate that News will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

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.