Walt Disney’s (DIS) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Guggenheim

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Guggenheim in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $140.00 price target on the entertainment giant’s stock. Guggenheim’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 35.36% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Phillip Securities upgraded Walt Disney to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday. Arete Research upgraded shares of Walt Disney to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.50.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

DIS stock traded down $1.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $103.43. The stock had a trading volume of 9,072,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,305,915. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.71. Walt Disney has a 52-week low of $80.10 and a 52-week high of $124.69. The stock has a market cap of $184.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.00.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The entertainment giant reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $25.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.54 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 9.37%. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walt Disney will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc increased its position in Walt Disney by 48.5% during the third quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 291 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Walt Disney

Here are the key news stories impacting Walt Disney this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Disney named Josh D’Amaro as its next CEO (effective mid‑March), ending a three‑year succession search and removing a key source of uncertainty for investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat consensus: $1.63 EPS vs. $1.57 estimate and roughly $26.0B revenue — parks (record Experiences revenue) and a rebound in streaming profit drove the beat, supporting the turnaround thesis. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts show continued conviction: Morgan Stanley started coverage with an overweight and $135 PT, Needham reaffirmed buy ($125 PT) and Wells Fargo remains overweight despite a small PT tweak — indicating visible upside in some models. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Chairman James Gorman and Bob Iger framed D’Amaro as the result of a competitive process (100+ candidates), which adds credibility to the board decision but leaves execution risk around streaming and international recovery. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance and margin pressure weighed on sentiment — Disney gave only modest operating‑income growth expectations for the next quarter, citing international visitation headwinds, higher costs and pre‑opening / cruise expenses. That weaker outlook triggered the post‑earnings slide. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Carriage dispute impact and cash concerns: Disney disclosed a ~$110M hit from the YouTube TV blackout and noted higher CapEx and growth investments that pressured operating income and free cash flow — key risk items for near‑term valuation. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Incoming CEO compensation disclosed is large (reported ~$38M package with significant long‑term equity), which may draw investor scrutiny over pay and near‑term dilution/expense. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts trimmed price targets or left cautious notes after the quarter (Jefferies, others), reflecting lingering skepticism about sustained free cash flow and entertainment margins despite the operational progress. Read More.

About Walt Disney

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), commonly known as Disney, is a diversified global entertainment and media conglomerate headquartered in Burbank, California. Founded in 1923 by Walt and Roy O. Disney, the company grew from an animation studio into a multi‑national entertainment enterprise known for iconic intellectual property and family‑oriented storytelling. Disney’s operations span film and television production, streaming services, theme parks and resorts, consumer products, and live entertainment.

On the content side, Disney produces and distributes feature films and television programming through a portfolio of studios and labels that includes Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Studios, along with broadcast and cable networks such as ABC, FX and National Geographic.