FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) Raised to “Hold” at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of FOX from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th.

FOX Price Performance

FOX stock opened at $38.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 2.33. FOX has a one year low of $25.82 and a one year high of $39.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $37.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.40.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. FOX had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that FOX will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

FOX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. This is a boost from FOX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. FOX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.93%.

Insider Activity at FOX

In other news, CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch acquired 119,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.06 per share, with a total value of $4,675,677.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,076,407 shares in the company, valued at $42,044,457.42. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch purchased 119,705 shares of FOX stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.06 per share, with a total value of $4,675,677.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,076,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,044,457.42. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO John Nallen sold 52,874 shares of FOX stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.96, for a total value of $2,059,971.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 249,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,717,559.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 19.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FOX

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of FOX by 692.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of FOX in the second quarter valued at about $51,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of FOX by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of FOX during the first quarter worth about $97,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in FOX by 267.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,569 shares during the period. 26.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FOX Company Profile

Fox Corporation operates as a news, sports, and entertainment company in the United States (U.S.). The company operates through four segments: Cable Network Programming, Television, Credible, and The FOX Studio Lot. The Cable Network Programming segment produces and licenses news and sports content for distribution through traditional cable television systems, direct broadcast satellite operators and telecommunication companies, virtual multi-channel video programming distributors, and other digital platforms primarily in the U.S.