Zacks Research Upgrades News (NASDAQ:NWS) to “Hold”

News (NASDAQ:NWS) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of News in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy”.

News Stock Performance

Shares of News stock opened at $30.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 0.95. 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 has a 1 year low of $26.25 and a 1 year high of $35.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.60 and its 200 day moving average is $31.70.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.06. News had a net margin of 13.80% and a return on equity of 5.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that News will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On News

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in News by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 32,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $964,000 after buying an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in News by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 90,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,694,000 after purchasing an additional 6,495 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in News by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund grew its holdings in News by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund now owns 51,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 13,500 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in News by 14.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 661,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,852,000 after buying an additional 81,986 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.