News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $31.66 and last traded at $31.2040, with a volume of 3827303 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $30.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWSA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Citigroup cut their target price on News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of News in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered News from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.50.

News Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28 and a beta of 0.88.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.14. News had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 6.35%.The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that News Corporation will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a yield of 68.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. News’s payout ratio is presently 19.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On News

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB grew its stake in News by 77.3% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 192,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,024,000 after purchasing an additional 83,821 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of News by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 823,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,580,000 after purchasing an additional 102,259 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of News by 120.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,326,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,002,000 after buying an additional 1,272,083 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of News by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,245,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,842,000 after buying an additional 94,368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in News by 54.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 567,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,149,000 after buying an additional 200,262 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

About News

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.