News (NASDAQ:NWS) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of News (NASDAQ:NWS) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

News Price Performance

Shares of News stock opened at $25.66 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 0.97. News has a 1-year low of $25.51 and a 1-year high of $35.58.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.15. News had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that News will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a yield of 73.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. News’s payout ratio is 9.85%.

Institutional Trading of News

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in News by 2.0% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of News by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of News by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in News by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in News by 10.6% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 4,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 14.63% of the company’s stock.

News Company Profile

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) is a global media and information services company engaged in news and digital real estate, book publishing and other media businesses. The company’s operations include print and digital newsbrands, business and financial information services, consumer platforms for property listings, and a major book publishing arm. Through its subsidiaries and brands, News Corp produces news content, market and financial reporting, online real-estate marketplaces and trade and consumer publishing products.

Key areas of activity include news and information, where the company publishes national and regional newspapers and operates business information services; book publishing through a well-known global publisher; and property-related digital businesses that operate online marketplaces for real estate listings.