News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Issues Earnings Results

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.14, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. News had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 6.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 EPS.

News Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ NWSA opened at $29.06 on Thursday. News has a 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $31.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $15.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.78 and its 200 day moving average is $25.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of News in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings raised News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research upgraded News from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On News

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NWSA. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its position in News by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 11,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of News by 5.9% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of News by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of News by 0.6% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 126,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,900,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of News by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 222,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,805,000 after buying an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Company Profile

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA) is a global diversified media and information services company headquartered in New York City. It operates through two principal segments: News and Information Services, and Digital Real Estate Services. The company’s news and information division oversees a portfolio of leading newspapers, magazines and digital platforms, offering content across print and online channels. Its properties include Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s, News UK titles such as The Times and The Sun, as well as News Corp Australia mastheads.

In addition to its journalism assets, News Corp is a significant player in book publishing through HarperCollins, one of the world’s largest consumer publishers.