Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 192,864 Shares of News Corporation $NWSA

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 329.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 251,326 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 192,864 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in News were worth $7,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NWSA. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in News in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in shares of News during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in News during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in News by 160.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in News by 661.1% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 2,995 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Stock Down 1.9%

NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $24.21 on Friday. News Corporation has a twelve month low of $23.38 and a twelve month high of $31.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.47.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.07. News had a net margin of 13.80% and a return on equity of 5.68%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that News Corporation will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 83.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. News’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.66%.

News News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting News this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat expectations — reported EPS $0.40 vs. $0.33 est. and revenue $2.36B vs. $2.30B est.; revenue rose ~5.5% year-over-year. This is the primary fundamental driver supporting the stock. News Corp A earnings beat by $0.03, revenue topped estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Company signaled an expanded buyback program and continued double?digit growth at Dow Jones and in digital real?estate businesses — bullish for cash-return and growth narratives. News Corporation signals expanded buyback and continued double-digit growth
• Positive Sentiment: Management commentary and coverage note revenue increases driven by Dow Jones and real?estate units, with the CEO citing favorable signs for H2 — supports medium?term outlook. News Corp Revenue Rises on Growth at Dow Jones, Real-Estate Divisions
• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a $0.10/share dividend (record Mar 11; payable Apr 8). The cash return is supportive for income investors (the published “83.0%” yield figure appears anomalous and should be verified).
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst mix remains mixed-to-positive — one summary shows an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy,” indicating some buy?side support despite recent discord among firms. News Corporation Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy”
• Neutral Sentiment: Several post?earnings writeups (Zacks previews/metrics pieces) dig into segment metrics and estimates — useful for investors digging beyond headline beats but not immediate catalysts. Compared to Estimates, News Corp. Q2 Earnings: A Look at Key Metrics
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded NWSA from “Hold” to “Strong Sell” — a clear near?term headwind that likely pressured the share price despite the earnings beat. Zacks Downgrade

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on NWSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of News from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research lowered News from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings downgraded News from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on News from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.68.

News 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.