FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) Stock Rating Lowered by Wells Fargo & Company

FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) was downgraded by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on FOX. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of FOX in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of FOX in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cfra reissued a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of FOX in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FOX in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Fox Advisors set a $97.00 target price on FOX in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $82.50.

FOX Stock Down 2.7%

FOX stock opened at $59.15 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $64.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.81. FOX has a twelve month low of $43.18 and a twelve month high of $68.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.31. FOX had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 11.41%.The business had revenue of $5.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that FOX will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at FOX

In related news, Chairman Keith Rupert Murdoch sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.26, for a total value of $5,926,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 1,100,862 shares in the company, valued at $65,237,082.12. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven Tomsic sold 138,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.54, for a total value of $9,208,936.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 180,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,014,196.24. The trade was a 43.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 268,294 shares of company stock valued at $17,214,273. Corporate insiders own 23.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FOX

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of FOX by 792.4% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,184,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,448,000 after buying an additional 2,827,768 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of FOX by 2,459.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 413,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,818,000 after buying an additional 396,900 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in FOX by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 538,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,845,000 after acquiring an additional 112,600 shares during the last quarter. Andra AP fonden increased its holdings in FOX by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 1,081,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,848,000 after acquiring an additional 80,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in FOX by 427.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 97,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,127,000 after acquiring an additional 78,804 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.41% of the company’s stock.

FOX News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting FOX this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reported Q2 results above estimates: EPS $0.82 vs. $0.51 consensus and revenue $5.18B, helped by advertising demand at news/sports networks and growth at ad-supported streamer Tubi. This beat is the main fundamental driver supporting the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: FOX declared a cash dividend of $0.28 per share (record date March 4, payable March 25), a shareholder-friendly action that can support the share price over the near term.
• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarter and ongoing streaming momentum have prompted continued analyst interest and buy-side positioning; institutional inflows and multiple recent buy ratings/price targets were noted in recent coverage. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley maintained a Hold on FOX while raising its price target to $77, highlighting that streaming gains and solid fundamentals are being offset by structural headwinds in linear TV — a balanced analyst view that tempers upside. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: High trading volume and the stock sitting between its 50-day and 200-day moving averages suggest active positioning/rotations among investors following the earnings print and recent run-up to the 12‑month high.
• Negative Sentiment: Underlying metrics show some weakness: EPS declined versus the prior year ($0.82 vs. $0.96 a year ago), which may feed concerns about slowing profitability despite the quarter’s beat. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite strong news coverage (including extensive Fox reporting on the Nancy Guthrie story), broader concerns about secular declines in linear TV ad demand remain a key risk that could limit multiple expansion and weigh on the stock. Article Title

About FOX

Fox Corporation (NASDAQ:FOX) is a U.S.-based media company that operates television broadcast, news and sports businesses. The company traces its contemporary structure to the 2019 reorganization that followed the sale of certain entertainment assets to The Walt Disney Company; Fox Corporation retained a portfolio centered on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Television Stations, Fox News Media and Fox Sports. Over time the company has expanded its digital footprint through acquisitions and direct-to-consumer services, building a mix of linear and streaming distribution.

FOX’s core activities include the creation, aggregation and distribution of television programming and live sports, the operation of national cable news and business networks, and the ownership and operation of local broadcast stations.