Citigroup Upgrades Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) to “Strong-Buy”

Citigroup upgraded shares of Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on DIS. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walt Disney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.52.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of DIS opened at $111.02 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Walt Disney has a twelve month low of $83.91 and a twelve month high of $123.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $112.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.90.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. Walt Disney’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Walt Disney will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,870.70. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walt Disney

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farmers Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 8,483 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. increased its stake in Walt Disney by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 3,412 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 6,105 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $680,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its position in Walt Disney by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 18,869 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 0.9% during the third quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 11,657 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walt Disney Company Profile

The Walt Disney Company operates as an entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Entertainment, Sports, and Experiences. The company produces and distributes film and television video streaming content under the ABC Television Network, Disney, Freeform, FX, Fox, National Geographic, and Star brand television channels, as well as ABC television stations and A+E television networks; and produces original content under the ABC Signature, Disney Branded Television, FX Productions, Lucasfilm, Marvel, National Geographic Studios, Pixar, Searchlight Pictures, Twentieth Century Studios, 20th Television, and Walt Disney Pictures banners.