The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.67.

NYT has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New York Times from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of New York Times in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Finally, Argus raised New York Times from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Levien Meredith A. Kopit sold 13,543 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.11, for a total value of $597,381.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,003,379.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other New York Times news, EVP Diane Brayton sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.84, for a total transaction of $299,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,684,126.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Levien Meredith A. Kopit sold 13,543 shares of New York Times stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.11, for a total transaction of $597,381.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,003,379.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,557 shares of company stock worth $1,029,968. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NYT. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of New York Times by 9.6% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in New York Times by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 12,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in New York Times by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 70,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,922,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee lifted its holdings in New York Times by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 74,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,236,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in New York Times by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 24,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. 95.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

New York Times Price Performance

NYSE NYT opened at $43.66 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $43.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.78. New York Times has a 1 year low of $35.06 and a 1 year high of $49.87. The company has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.41 and a beta of 1.01.

New York Times (NYSE:NYT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $676.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $680.02 million. New York Times had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 9.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that New York Times will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current year.

New York Times Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 1st. This is a positive change from New York Times’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. New York Times’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.41%.

About New York Times

The New York Times Company, together with its subsidiaries, creates, collects, and distributes news and information worldwide. The company operates through two segments, The New York Times Group and The Athletic. It offers The New York Times (The Times) through company's mobile application, website, printed newspaper, and associated content, such as podcast.