News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) Receives $37.68 Average Price Target from Analysts

News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.6750.

NWSA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of News from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of News from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on News from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on News from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th.

Institutional Trading of News

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of News in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $241,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in News during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of News by 3.6% in the second quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 121,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,610,000 after buying an additional 4,244 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of News by 379.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 111,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,330,000 after acquiring an additional 88,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Permanent Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of News during the 3rd quarter worth $812,000. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

News Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.25. 3,452,587 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,048,570. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.76. News has a 52-week low of $23.38 and a 52-week high of $31.61. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $26.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.97.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. News had a return on equity of 5.68% and a net margin of 13.80%.The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.21 EPS. News’s quarterly revenue was down 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that News will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Company Profile

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA) is a global diversified media and information services company headquartered in New York City. It operates through two principal segments: News and Information Services, and Digital Real Estate Services. The company’s news and information division oversees a portfolio of leading newspapers, magazines and digital platforms, offering content across print and online channels. Its properties include Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s, News UK titles such as The Times and The Sun, as well as News Corp Australia mastheads.

In addition to its journalism assets, News Corp is a significant player in book publishing through HarperCollins, one of the world’s largest consumer publishers.