News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $30.69 and last traded at $30.49, with a volume of 2737742 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $30.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NWSA shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital dropped their target price on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of News in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, News has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

News Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $16.19 billion, a PE ratio of 39.08 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.76.

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

News Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. News’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.40%.

Institutional Trading of News

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of News by 2,392.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in News in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in News in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in News during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of News during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

About News

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.