News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $30.14 and last traded at $30.18, with a volume of 1252191 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $29.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective 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. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.25.

News Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $28.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.66. The stock has a market cap of $17.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.38 and a beta of 1.35.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On News

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in News in the third quarter worth $990,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in News by 124.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,713,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,832,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144,856 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in News by 313.6% in the third quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 35,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,000 after purchasing an additional 26,648 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in News by 1.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,337,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,512,000 after purchasing an additional 53,550 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in News by 26.4% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 180,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,801,000 after purchasing an additional 37,702 shares during the period. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

News Company 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.