News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of News (NASDAQ:NWSA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

NWSA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup began coverage on News in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.25.

News Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA opened at $29.36 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $28.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.63. The company has a market cap of $16.70 billion, a PE ratio of 40.22 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. News has a twelve month low of $22.65 and a twelve month high of $30.03.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. On average, analysts predict that News will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. News’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in News by 2,392.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in News during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in News during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in News during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of News by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

News Company Profile

News Corporation, a media and information services company, creates and distributes authoritative and engaging content, and other products and services for consumers and businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other.