Analysts Set News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) Price Target at $37.14

Shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.14.

Several research firms have commented on NWSA. Zacks Research raised News from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of News in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings raised News from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup cut their price target on News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NWSA opened at $25.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.46. 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 company has a market capitalization of $14.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.88. News has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $31.61.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.05. The firm 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that News will post 0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in News by 16.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,356,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $965,673,000 after buying an additional 4,448,929 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its stake in News by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 29,934,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $781,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,137,691 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in News by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,875,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,830,000 after acquiring an additional 4,214,562 shares during the last quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP raised its stake in News by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 14,009,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,224,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in News by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,458,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,169,000 after acquiring an additional 88,157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

About News

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.