News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on NWSA. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of News in a report on Monday, October 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of News from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of News in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of News from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of News from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.50.

News Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NWSA opened at $26.27 on Wednesday. News has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $31.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $29.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.96. The stock has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46 and a beta of 1.01.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. News had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 7.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that News will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of News

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in News by 2.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,245,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,842,000 after acquiring an additional 94,368 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in News by 80.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,069,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,819,652 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new position in News during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,840,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of News by 120.6% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,326,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of News by 174.3% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,911,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,648 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

About News

News Corporation is a global media and information services company. Its businesses include Dow Jones, which provides financial news and data through outlets such as The Wall Street Journal; HarperCollins, a book publisher; and News Corp’s news media operations, which publish newspapers and digital news services. The company also operates digital real estate businesses, including Realtor.com in the United States and REA Group in Australia. Its brands and services reach audiences and customers across the Americas, Europe, Australia and other international markets.