New York Times (NYSE:NYT) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $72.15 and last traded at $71.5920, with a volume of 40974 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.31.

Key New York Times News

Here are the key news stories impacting New York Times this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results showed revenue and EPS beats and continued subscriber growth, supporting NYT’s premium multiple and investor confidence. (Q3/Q4 beat: revenue up ~9.5% year-over-year; EPS beat consensus).
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage highlighting relative outperformance vs. peers may attract momentum buying and re-rating hopes — a Zacks piece notes NYT has outpaced some consumer-staples/media peers this year. Is The New York Times Company (NYT) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Staples Peers This Year?
• Neutral Sentiment: An NYT story reporting that federal prosecutors opened an inquiry into Fed Chair Jerome Powell increases macro volatility but is a second-order factor for NYT fundamentals; it matters mainly through market-wide risk sentiment rather than company operations. Federal Prosecutors Open Investigation Into Fed Chair Powell
• Negative Sentiment: Macro report: The NYT live coverage of inflation staying steady as the Fed considers its rate path keeps higher-for-longer rate risk in focus — a tougher rate backdrop can compress high-P/E growth multiples and weigh ad spending (advertising is cyclical), which could pressure NYT’s stock despite subscription resilience. Inflation Steady as Fed Considers Rate Path

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of New York Times from $72.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating on shares of New York Times in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Barclays upped their target price on New York Times from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. UBS Group set a $62.00 price target on New York Times in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of New York Times in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.71.

New York Times Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $66.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.31. The firm has a market cap of $11.61 billion, a PE ratio of 34.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.12.

New York Times (NYSE:NYT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $700.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $692.01 million. New York Times had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 20.30%. The business’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The New York Times Company will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New York Times Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 6th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. New York Times’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of New York Times during the first quarter valued at about $442,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in New York Times by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 701,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,819,000 after buying an additional 118,454 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in New York Times by 52.2% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 11,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 3,990 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in New York Times by 690.7% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of New York Times in the 1st quarter worth about $1,532,000. 95.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

New York Times Company Profile

The New York Times Company is a publicly traded media organization best known for publishing The New York Times newspaper and operating the NYTimes.com digital platform. The company produces daily print and digital journalism covering national and international news, opinion pieces, feature stories, and multimedia content. Alongside its flagship newspaper, the firm offers a range of subscription-based services, including Times Cooking, NYT Games, podcasts and newsletters, designed to engage a broad audience of readers and advertisers.

Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, The New York Times has built a reputation for in-depth reporting and investigative journalism.