Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sony in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Sony in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sony in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th.

Sony Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE SONY opened at $20.94 on Friday. Sony has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $30.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $21.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -104.71, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.94.

Sony (NYSE:SONY) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $19.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.43 billion. Sony had a positive return on equity of 12.20% and a negative net margin of 2.61%.Sony’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $32.86 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Sony will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ravi Ahuja sold 36,826 shares of Sony stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.08, for a total value of $776,292.08. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,239,208.88. The trade was a 38.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Toshimoto Mitomo sold 25,000 shares of Sony stock in a transaction on Friday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total transaction of $525,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 115,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,432,014. This represents a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 771,838 shares of company stock valued at $16,866,580 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SONY. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sony in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,922,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Sony by 422.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 16,094 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Sony by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 973,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,913,000 after acquiring an additional 212,971 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in Sony by 338.7% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 295,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,116,000 after acquiring an additional 228,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Sony by 245.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,049,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,044,000 after purchasing an additional 4,296,028 shares in the last quarter. 14.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sony News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sony received conditional approval to launch a U.S.-based stablecoin trust bank, which could expand its financial-services footprint and create a new growth avenue.
• Positive Sentiment: Sony’s new RX10 V camera and other consumer-electronics launches show ongoing product innovation, supporting the company’s hardware brand.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street coverage remains mixed, with analysts generally holding a neutral stance and a consensus price target near current levels.
• Negative Sentiment: Sony’s reported shift away from physical PlayStation discs has triggered backlash from gamers and raised concern about the company’s gaming strategy and user goodwill. Sony plans major change to PlayStation games that has thousands concerned
• Negative Sentiment: Jermaine Dupri’s lawsuit over alleged unpaid royalties adds legal and financial uncertainty for Sony Music. Jermaine Dupri sues Sony Music for $18 million in unpaid royalties
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling, including by Sony’s CEO and other executives, is pressuring investor sentiment and may be viewed as a lack of confidence or profit-taking.

About Sony

Sony Group Corporation (NYSE: SONY) is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, Sony has grown from an electronics maker into a diversified global company with operations spanning consumer electronics, entertainment, gaming, semiconductors and financial services. The company’s shares trade in Japan and its American Depositary Receipts trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SONY.

Sony’s primary businesses include Electronics Products & Solutions, which covers televisions, audio equipment, digital cameras and professional broadcast systems; Game & Network Services, anchored by the PlayStation platform, consoles, software and online services; Music and Pictures, through Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment, producing, distributing and licensing recorded music, film and television content; Imaging & Sensing Solutions, which develops CMOS image sensors and other semiconductor components; and Financial Services, offering life insurance, banking and other financial products in Japan.