News Corporation (NWS) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 11th

News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS) announced a dividend on Thursday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.10 per share on Wednesday, April 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 73.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th.

News has a dividend payout ratio of 19.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect News to earn $0.97 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.6%.

News Stock Down 6.4%

Shares of NWS stock opened at $25.65 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $29.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.20. News has a 1-year low of $25.57 and a 1-year high of $35.58. The company has a market cap of $14.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. News had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 13.35%. On average, research analysts expect that News will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of News

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NWS. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in News by 616.8% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in News by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 53,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,598,000 after buying an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in News by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of News by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 24,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,000 after acquiring an additional 3,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of News by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the period. 14.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About News

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.