News (NASDAQ:NWS) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $35.32 and last traded at $35.31, with a volume of 379872 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research lowered News from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

News Stock Up 0.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $19.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.29 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $31.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.69.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. News had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 6.35%. Sell-side analysts expect that News Corporation will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 60.0%. News’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On News

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWS. L1 Capital Pty Ltd bought a new stake in News during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $117,040,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of News by 2,991.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,947,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,066 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of News by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,163,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344,287 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of News in the fourth quarter worth $17,701,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in News by 100.5% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,047,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,192,000 after purchasing an additional 525,119 shares during the period. 14.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

News Company Profile

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) is a global media and information services company engaged in news and digital real estate, book publishing and other media businesses. The company’s operations include print and digital newsbrands, business and financial information services, consumer platforms for property listings, and a major book publishing arm. Through its subsidiaries and brands, News Corp produces news content, market and financial reporting, online real-estate marketplaces and trade and consumer publishing products.

Key areas of activity include news and information, where the company publishes national and regional newspapers and operates business information services; book publishing through a well-known global publisher; and property-related digital businesses that operate online marketplaces for real estate listings.