News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.14.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of News from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of News in a report on Sunday, May 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On News

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NWSA. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in shares of News during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in News in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in News during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in News by 154.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in News by 561.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares during the period. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Stock Performance

Shares of News stock opened at $26.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.44. News has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $31.61. The company has a market capitalization of $14.58 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.89.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. News had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 12.92%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that News will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

News Company Profile

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA) is a global diversified media and information services company headquartered in New York City. It operates through two principal segments: News and Information Services, and Digital Real Estate Services. The company’s news and information division oversees a portfolio of leading newspapers, magazines and digital platforms, offering content across print and online channels. Its properties include Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s, News UK titles such as The Times and The Sun, as well as News Corp Australia mastheads.

In addition to its journalism assets, News Corp is a significant player in book publishing through HarperCollins, one of the world’s largest consumer publishers.