News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.14 EPS

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.14, Zacks reports. News had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 6.12%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis.

News Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.06. The stock had a trading volume of 7,319,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,289,739. The company has a market cap of $15.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.88. News has a 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $31.61. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its stake in shares of News by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 11,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in News by 5.9% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in News by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in News by 0.6% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 126,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,900,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of News by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 222,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,805,000 after buying an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NWSA. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of News in a report on Sunday, May 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $37.14.

About News

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA) is a global diversified media and information services company headquartered in New York City. It operates through two principal segments: News and Information Services, and Digital Real Estate Services. The company’s news and information division oversees a portfolio of leading newspapers, magazines and digital platforms, offering content across print and online channels. Its properties include Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s, News UK titles such as The Times and The Sun, as well as News Corp Australia mastheads.

In addition to its journalism assets, News Corp is a significant player in book publishing through HarperCollins, one of the world’s largest consumer publishers.