Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC lifted its position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 1,241.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 416,932 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 385,843 shares during the quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC’s holdings in News were worth $11,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased 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 period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of News in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in News during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in 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 period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in News in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised shares of News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.25.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NWSA opened at $25.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.06 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. News Co. has a 52-week low of $22.65 and a 52-week high of $30.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.72.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last posted its earnings results 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%. Research analysts predict that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

News Profile

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.