New York Times (NYSE:NYT) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of New York Times (NYSE:NYT) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NYT. Citigroup dropped their price objective on New York Times from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of New York Times in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Guggenheim set a $63.00 price target on shares of New York Times and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $68.00 price objective on shares of New York Times in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of New York Times in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.43.

New York Times Price Performance

NYSE:NYT traded up $1.50 on Thursday, hitting $76.99. 496,568 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,290,807. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $71.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.49. New York Times has a 52 week low of $44.83 and a 52 week high of $76.98. The company has a market cap of $12.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.11.

New York Times (NYSE:NYT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. New York Times had a return on equity of 21.02% and a net margin of 12.18%.The business had revenue of $802.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $791.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. New York Times’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that New York Times will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New York Times Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from New York Times’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. New York Times’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other New York Times news, CAO R Anthony Benten sold 1,913 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total transaction of $140,739.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 37,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,778,886.04. This trade represents a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New York Times

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in shares of New York Times by 362.7% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 153,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,593,000 after buying an additional 120,327 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its position in New York Times by 35.0% during the third quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 94,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,428,000 after buying an additional 24,574 shares in the last quarter. Abrams Bison Investments LLC bought a new position in New York Times during the 2nd quarter worth $78,932,000. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in New York Times by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 276,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,845,000 after acquiring an additional 16,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of New York Times by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 96,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,521,000 after acquiring an additional 16,324 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.37% of the company’s stock.

New York Times News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Argus/analyst upgrade — Argus upgraded NYT to a “strong‑buy,” a catalyst that can attract momentum buyers and lift sentiment among retail and institutional investors. Argus Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Reports of a Berkshire/Hyperscaler interest — recent coverage highlights a new Berkshire stake (and broader commentary linking NYT to investor interest tied to Buffett’s moves), which investors interpret as a credibility boost and potential long‑term buyer. Berkshire Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals — NYT’s Feb. 4 quarter showed a small EPS beat and double‑digit revenue growth (subscriptions and digital ad recovery), supporting the bull case that the business can grow revenue while expanding digital reach.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market context — NYT’s move comes amid “mixed signals” in equity markets; broader market volatility could mute follow‑through buying even if company‑specific news is positive. Market Mixed Signals
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/AI debate — commentary that an A.I. productivity boom might ease Fed policy could indirectly help ad and subscription growth, but this is a macro tailwind rather than a direct company catalyst. AI & Fed Cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing content output — steady publishing (sports, world, culture) sustains traffic and subscription engagement, but individual articles are not an immediate stock catalyst unless they drive a material traffic spike.
• Negative Sentiment: Cost pressure concerns — a Seeking Alpha piece highlights inflationary cost trends for legacy media companies, flagging margin risk as NYT invests in journalism and product. That narrative can cap multiple expansion if costs continue to rise. Costs Article
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — CAO R. Anthony Benten sold 1,913 shares (~4.8% reduction in his holding), which some investors view as a modest negative signal even though the remaining ownership is large. SEC filing: Insider Sale Filing

New York Times Company Profile

The New York Times Company is a publicly traded media organization best known for publishing The New York Times newspaper and operating the NYTimes.com digital platform. The company produces daily print and digital journalism covering national and international news, opinion pieces, feature stories, and multimedia content. Alongside its flagship newspaper, the firm offers a range of subscription-based services, including Times Cooking, NYT Games, podcasts and newsletters, designed to engage a broad audience of readers and advertisers.

Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, The New York Times has built a reputation for in-depth reporting and investigative journalism.