Emmett Investment Management LP Invests $3.12 Million in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Emmett Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 113,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,123,000. News accounts for 2.8% of Emmett Investment Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWSA. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of News by 2,392.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,005 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of News in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of News during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in News during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of News by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Price Performance

NASDAQ NWSA opened at $28.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.16 billion, a PE ratio of 39.02 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.73. News Co. has a twelve month low of $22.65 and a twelve month high of $30.69.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.02). News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. News’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.13 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NWSA. StockNews.com downgraded News from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup assumed coverage on News in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of News from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.80.

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.