Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $125.00 target price on the entertainment giant’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 17.87% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Walt Disney from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.00.

Walt Disney Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE DIS traded down $1.56 during trading on Thursday, hitting $106.05. 1,695,486 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,400,652. The firm has a market cap of $190.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.55. Walt Disney has a 12-month low of $80.10 and a 12-month high of $124.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $113.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.30.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The entertainment giant reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.08. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 12.22%.The company had revenue of $22.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walt Disney will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Walt Disney by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 26,767 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,980,000 after buying an additional 1,904 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 684,271 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $67,538,000 after buying an additional 21,612 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,268 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,652 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,051,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares during the period. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 41,713.3% during the 1st quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 6,272 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 6,257 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Company Profile

The Walt Disney Company operates as an entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Entertainment, Sports, and Experiences. The company produces and distributes film and television video streaming content under the ABC Television Network, Disney, Freeform, FX, Fox, National Geographic, and Star brand television channels, as well as ABC television stations and A+E television networks; and produces original content under the ABC Signature, Disney Branded Television, FX Productions, Lucasfilm, Marvel, National Geographic Studios, Pixar, Searchlight Pictures, Twentieth Century Studios, 20th Television, and Walt Disney Pictures banners.