News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) Stock Has Average Price Target of $38.50

News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.50.

A number of research firms have weighed in on NWSA. Zacks Research downgraded News from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on News from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded News from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised News from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of News in a report on Thursday, August 6th.

News Stock Down 0.6%

NWSA stock opened at $30.03 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.51. The company has a market capitalization of $16.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.16 and a beta of 0.97. News has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $31.66. 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:NWSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.14. News had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 7.09%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that News will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a yield of 68.0%. News’s payout ratio is 19.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On News

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Metropolis Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of News by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 8,835,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,900 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of News by 80.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,069,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,819,652 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in News by 120.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,326,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,083 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in News by 174.3% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,911,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its stake in News by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 29,934,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $781,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137,691 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About News

News Corp (NASDAQ: NWSA) is a global media and information-services company that creates and distributes news, business information, books, digital content and real estate services. Its operations serve consumers, professionals, institutions and businesses across the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and other international markets.

The company’s Dow Jones division provides business and financial news, data and information through publications and platforms including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, MarketWatch, Factiva and Dow Jones Newswires.