Estate Counselors LLC Acquires New Stake in News Corporation $NWS

Estate Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 66,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,893,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NWS. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in News by 128.0% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 681,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,429,000 after acquiring an additional 382,644 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of News during the first quarter worth about $5,408,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of News by 2,586.6% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 131,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 126,198 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of News by 3.2% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 96,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,737,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in News by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 96,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,765,000 after purchasing an additional 11,550 shares during the period. 14.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on NWS. Zacks Research upgraded News from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings raised News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

News Trading Up 2.4%

NASDAQ:NWS opened at $30.92 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.17. The stock has a market cap of $16.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. News Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.49 and a 12 month high of $35.58.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.07. News had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 6.12%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Equities analysts predict that News Corporation will post 0.96 EPS for the current year.

News Profile

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) is a global media and information services company engaged in news and digital real estate, book publishing and other media businesses. The company’s operations include print and digital newsbrands, business and financial information services, consumer platforms for property listings, and a major book publishing arm. Through its subsidiaries and brands, News Corp produces news content, market and financial reporting, online real-estate marketplaces and trade and consumer publishing products.

Key areas of activity include news and information, where the company publishes national and regional newspapers and operates business information services; book publishing through a well-known global publisher; and property-related digital businesses that operate online marketplaces for real estate listings.