Skye Global Management LP Acquires New Holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Skye Global Management LP bought a new position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 65,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,796,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in News by 124.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,713,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,832,000 after buying an additional 8,144,856 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of News by 2.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 435,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,594,000 after purchasing an additional 12,345 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of News by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 82,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,263,000 after purchasing an additional 5,086 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in News in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $374,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in News by 374.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,160,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,944 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NWSA stock opened at $28.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.56 and a beta of 1.30. News Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.38 and a fifty-two week high of $30.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.86.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.02). News had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NWSA. StockNews.com upgraded shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on News from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.