News (NASDAQ:NWS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 1,178,828 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 21% from the previous session’s volume of 1,486,396 shares.The stock last traded at $33.0490 and had previously closed at $32.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NWS shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research cut shares of News from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

News Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $17.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.20 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $30.78 and its 200 day moving average is $29.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.11. News had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 7.09%. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that News Corporation will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 60.0%. News’s payout ratio is 19.42%.

Institutional Trading of News

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of News in the second quarter worth about $30,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of News in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Arax Advisory Partners acquired a new position in News in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in News by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in News by 74.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.63% of the company’s stock.

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.