FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) Downgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to Hold

Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of FOX in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Cfra restated a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of FOX in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of FOX in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Fox Advisors set a $97.00 target price on FOX in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FOX in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $82.50.

FOX Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of FOX opened at $59.15 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.81. The company has a market cap of $26.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. FOX has a twelve month low of $43.18 and a twelve month high of $68.18.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.31. FOX had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 18.14%. The firm had revenue of $5.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. As a group, analysts expect that FOX will post 4.25 EPS for the current year.

FOX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. FOX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.58%.

Insider Activity at FOX

In related news, Chairman Keith Rupert Murdoch sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.26, for a total value of $5,926,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,100,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,237,082.12. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven Tomsic sold 138,397 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.54, for a total transaction of $9,208,936.38. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 180,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,014,196.24. The trade was a 43.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 268,294 shares of company stock worth $17,214,273 over the last three months. 23.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of FOX

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FOX by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 566,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,789,000 after buying an additional 28,200 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan lifted its position in FOX by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 24,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in FOX by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 8,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in FOX in the fourth quarter worth $225,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of FOX by 92.2% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 10,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 4,832 shares in the last quarter. 26.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about FOX

Here are the key news stories impacting FOX this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reported Q2 results above estimates: EPS $0.82 vs. $0.51 consensus and revenue $5.18B, helped by advertising demand at news/sports networks and growth at ad-supported streamer Tubi. This beat is the main fundamental driver supporting the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: FOX declared a cash dividend of $0.28 per share (record date March 4, payable March 25), a shareholder-friendly action that can support the share price over the near term.
• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarter and ongoing streaming momentum have prompted continued analyst interest and buy-side positioning; institutional inflows and multiple recent buy ratings/price targets were noted in recent coverage. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley maintained a Hold on FOX while raising its price target to $77, highlighting that streaming gains and solid fundamentals are being offset by structural headwinds in linear TV — a balanced analyst view that tempers upside. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: High trading volume and the stock sitting between its 50-day and 200-day moving averages suggest active positioning/rotations among investors following the earnings print and recent run-up to the 12?month high.
• Negative Sentiment: Underlying metrics show some weakness: EPS declined versus the prior year ($0.82 vs. $0.96 a year ago), which may feed concerns about slowing profitability despite the quarter’s beat. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite strong news coverage (including extensive Fox reporting on the Nancy Guthrie story), broader concerns about secular declines in linear TV ad demand remain a key risk that could limit multiple expansion and weigh on the stock. Article Title

FOX Company Profile

Fox Corporation (NASDAQ:FOX) is a U.S.-based media company that operates television broadcast, news and sports businesses. The company traces its contemporary structure to the 2019 reorganization that followed the sale of certain entertainment assets to The Walt Disney Company; Fox Corporation retained a portfolio centered on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Television Stations, Fox News Media and Fox Sports. Over time the company has expanded its digital footprint through acquisitions and direct-to-consumer services, building a mix of linear and streaming distribution.

FOX’s core activities include the creation, aggregation and distribution of television programming and live sports, the operation of national cable news and business networks, and the ownership and operation of local broadcast stations.