Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Boosts Stock Position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 91,205 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,847 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in News were worth $2,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NWSA. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in News by 2,392.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of News during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of News in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of News by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in News during the 3rd quarter worth $85,000. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NWSA opened at $27.30 on Tuesday. News Co. has a 1 year low of $22.65 and a 1 year high of $30.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.40 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company’s fifty day moving average is $28.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.78.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWSA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup assumed coverage on News in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, News presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.25.

About News

News Corporation, a media and information services company, creates and distributes authoritative and engaging content, and other products and services for consumers and businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other.