News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of News from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of News from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of News in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.34.

News Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $26.19 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $25.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.96. News has a 1 year low of $23.38 and a 1 year high of $31.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.04. News had a net margin of 13.80% and a return on equity of 5.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that News will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On News

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of News in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in News during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in News in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in News in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in News in the third quarter worth $35,000. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.