New York Times (NYSE:NYT) Stock Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) shares crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.29 and traded as high as $68.52. New York Times shares last traded at $68.3320, with a volume of 3,226,995 shares trading hands.

Key Headlines Impacting New York Times

Here are the key news stories impacting New York Times this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NYT beat third-quarter earnings and revenue estimates. EPS was $0.68 versus expectations of $0.65, while revenue rose 9.7% year over year to $768.5 million. Digital subscriber growth, higher subscription revenue and stronger advertising supported growth and margin expansion. The New York Times Q3 Earnings Beat on Digital Subscription Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say NYT is in advanced or exclusive talks to acquire film-focused social network Letterboxd for roughly $330 million. The deal could broaden the company’s audience and businesses, but its financial impact is uncertain until terms and a transaction are confirmed. New York Times Company in advanced talks to acquire Letterboxd for roughly $330 million
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $64 from $63 but kept an “equal weight” rating. The target remains below the $68.33 price cited in the report, signaling limited expected upside from the analyst’s perspective. Barclays price target update

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on NYT. Wall Street Zen lowered New York Times from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. UBS Group set a $82.00 price target on New York Times in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. New Street Research set a $82.00 price target on New York Times in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on New York Times from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research cut New York Times from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, New York Times currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.80.

New York Times Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.25. The company has a market capitalization of $11.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.89.

New York Times (NYSE:NYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $768.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.21 million. New York Times had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 13.41%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The New York Times Company will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

New York Times Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 7th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 7th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. New York Times’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New York Times

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Giverny Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in New York Times in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,900,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in New York Times by 20.3% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,756,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,775,000 after acquiring an additional 465,600 shares in the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought a new position in shares of New York Times during the first quarter valued at $25,207,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of New York Times by 416.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 224,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,274,000 after acquiring an additional 180,678 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of New York Times by 30.3% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 761,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,740,000 after acquiring an additional 177,045 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.37% of the company’s stock.

About New York Times

The New York Times Company is a media organization best known for publishing The New York Times, a newspaper founded in 1851. Based in New York City, the company produces journalism on U.S. and international news, politics, business, culture, science and other subjects.

Its offerings include print and digital news, games, cooking content, product reviews through Wirecutter, and sports journalism through The Athletic. The company serves readers in the United States and around the world through its digital platforms and print publications.

The company is led by President and Chief Executive Officer Meredith Kopit Levien, while A.G.