Weiss Asset Management LP Purchases New Shares in News Corporation $NWS

Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 189,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,408,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of News by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,163,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,141,000 after buying an additional 1,344,287 shares during the period. L1 Capital Pty Ltd boosted its position in News by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. L1 Capital Pty Ltd now owns 4,273,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,630,000 after acquiring an additional 886,156 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of News by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,728,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,314,000 after acquiring an additional 124,871 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of News by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,960,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,733,000 after acquiring an additional 7,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of News by 2,991.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,947,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884,066 shares in the last quarter. 14.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NWS opened at $30.19 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.17. News Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.49 and a fifty-two week high of $35.58. The company has a market capitalization of $16.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.70.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.07. News had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Analysts expect that News Corporation will post 0.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NWS has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research raised News from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

About News

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) is a global media and information services company engaged in news and digital real estate, book publishing and other media businesses. The company’s operations include print and digital newsbrands, business and financial information services, consumer platforms for property listings, and a major book publishing arm. Through its subsidiaries and brands, News Corp produces news content, market and financial reporting, online real-estate marketplaces and trade and consumer publishing products.

Key areas of activity include news and information, where the company publishes national and regional newspapers and operates business information services; book publishing through a well-known global publisher; and property-related digital businesses that operate online marketplaces for real estate listings.