Wall Street Zen Upgrades News (NASDAQ:NWSA) to “Strong-Buy”

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of News in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of News from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of News from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of News from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of News in a research note on Monday, October 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, News currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.80.

News Price Performance

Shares of News stock opened at $26.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.96. News has a 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $31.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.02. News had a return on equity of 7.42% and a net margin of 6.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that News will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of News

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in News by 2.3% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in News by 80.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,069,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,441,000 after buying an additional 1,819,652 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new stake in News during the 3rd quarter worth about $79,840,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position 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 worth $58,002,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of News by 174.3% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,911,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,648 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

About News

News Corporation is a global media and information services company. Its businesses include Dow Jones, which provides financial news and data through outlets such as The Wall Street Journal; HarperCollins, a book publisher; and News Corp’s news media operations, which publish newspapers and digital news services.

The company also operates digital real estate businesses, including Realtor.com in the United States and REA Group in Australia. Its brands and services reach audiences and customers across the Americas, Europe, Australia and other international markets.

News Corporation was formed in 2013 when the former News Corporation separated its publishing and media operations from its entertainment businesses.