News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on NWSA. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upgraded News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on News from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim increased their price target on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.80.

News Trading Up 0.3 %

NWSA stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $26.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,692,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,786,209. The company has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.00 and a beta of 1.24. News has a 12 month low of $22.65 and a 12 month high of $30.69. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. On average, equities research analysts predict that News will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of News

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in News by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of News by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Boyar Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of News by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Boyar Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of News by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in shares of News by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 12,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

News Company Profile

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.