Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) Receives $22.00 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.00.

Several analysts recently commented on SONY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $22.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Sony in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sony in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sony in a report on Monday, May 11th.

More Sony News

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sony’s WH-1000XX “The Collexion” headphones are being positively reviewed as a premium product, which supports the company’s consumer electronics brand. Sony WH-1000XX The Collexion review: Luxury epitomised
• Positive Sentiment: Sony announced a PlayStation State of Play showcase for June, which can help drive attention to upcoming games and hardware. Sony PlayStation State of Play June edition announced

Sony Stock Performance

Shares of SONY opened at $22.09 on Friday. Sony has a one year low of $19.63 and a one year high of $30.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.72. The stock has a market cap of $131.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -110.43, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Sony (NYSE:SONY) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $19.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.43 billion. Sony had a positive return on equity of 12.20% and a negative net margin of 2.61%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $32.86 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sony will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Sony Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.0796 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 80.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 30th. Sony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -55.00%.

Insider Activity at Sony

In related news, Director Kenichiro Yoshida sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.61, for a total transaction of $9,044,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 661,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,959,115.15. This trade represents a 37.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Tsuyoshi Kodera sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.61, for a total transaction of $395,675.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $622,973.33. This represents a 38.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sony

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SONY. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Sony by 422.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 16,094 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Sony by 26.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 178,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,542,000 after acquiring an additional 37,677 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Sony by 23.4% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 22,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 4,172 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Sony by 24.6% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 3,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in Sony in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,058,000. 14.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sony Company Profile

Sony Group Corporation (NYSE: SONY) is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, Sony has grown from an electronics maker into a diversified global company with operations spanning consumer electronics, entertainment, gaming, semiconductors and financial services. The company’s shares trade in Japan and its American Depositary Receipts trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SONY.

Sony’s primary businesses include Electronics Products & Solutions, which covers televisions, audio equipment, digital cameras and professional broadcast systems; Game & Network Services, anchored by the PlayStation platform, consoles, software and online services; Music and Pictures, through Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment, producing, distributing and licensing recorded music, film and television content; Imaging & Sensing Solutions, which develops CMOS image sensors and other semiconductor components; and Financial Services, offering life insurance, banking and other financial products in Japan.