News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $30.14 and last traded at $30.18, with a volume of 1252191 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NWSA shares. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of News in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.25.

News Trading Up 2.4 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $17.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.38 and a beta of 1.35.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. News’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On News

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in News in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $990,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in News by 124.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,713,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,832,000 after buying an additional 8,144,856 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in News by 313.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 35,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,000 after buying an additional 26,648 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in News by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,337,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,512,000 after buying an additional 53,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in News by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 180,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,801,000 after buying an additional 37,702 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

About News

News Corporation, a media and information services company, creates and distributes authoritative and engaging content, and other products and services for consumers and businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other.