FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Fox Corporation (NASDAQ:FOXA) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after Bank of America downgraded the stock from a buy rating to an underperform rating. The stock had previously closed at $55.98, but opened at $53.70. Bank of America now has a $45.00 price target on the stock. FOX shares last traded at $54.0690, with a volume of 1,590,656 shares trading hands.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of FOX from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus raised shares of FOX to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of FOX from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of FOX in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FOX in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.80.

Insider Activity at FOX

In other news, insider Adam G. Ciongoli sold 29,897 shares of FOX stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.55, for a total value of $2,079,336.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 35,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,502,269.90. The trade was a 45.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 19.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FOX

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FOX during the fourth quarter worth about $266,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its stake in FOX by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 107,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,836,000 after buying an additional 33,997 shares during the period. Auxier Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in FOX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $222,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in FOX by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 417,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,536,000 after buying an additional 43,232 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in FOX by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. 52.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FOX Trading Up 5.0%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.44. The firm has a market cap of $24.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66, a P/E/G ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 0.51.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA) 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 $0.47 by $0.35. FOX had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 11.41%.The firm had revenue of $5.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. FOX’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Fox Corporation will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FOX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 83.0%. FOX’s payout ratio is currently 13.46%.

About FOX

Fox Corporation (NASDAQ: FOXA) is a U.S.-based media company focused on television broadcasting, cable news and sports programming, and digital distribution. The company was formed in 2019 as the successor to certain assets of 21st Century Fox after a transaction that transferred many film and television studio assets to The Walt Disney Company. Fox Corp’s operations center on the Fox Broadcasting network, a portfolio of local television stations, national news and business cable networks, and sports media properties.

Fox produces, acquires and distributes a range of live and recorded programming, including news, opinion and commentary, national and local sports telecasts, and general entertainment.