Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Shares Down 1.2% on Analyst Downgrade

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) fell 1.2% during trading on Friday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $130.00 to $105.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walt Disney traded as low as $84.71 and last traded at $84.90. 2,887,173 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 11,593,580 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.96.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on DIS. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Walt Disney from $136.00 to $116.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Macquarie raised their price target on Walt Disney from $104.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walt Disney from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $139.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 153,769,084 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $18,815,185,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,582 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the fourth quarter valued at $1,938,647,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Walt Disney by 10.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,883,983 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,477,831,000 after buying an additional 1,449,730 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Walt Disney in the 1st quarter worth about $1,490,492,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,040,297 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,473,252,000 after buying an additional 293,482 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $97.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $155.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.40.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The entertainment giant reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $23.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.08 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 1.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Walt Disney

The Walt Disney Company operates as an entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Entertainment, Sports, and Experiences. The company produces and distributes film and television video streaming content under the ABC Television Network, Disney, Freeform, FX, Fox, National Geographic, and Star brand television channels, as well as ABC television stations and A+E television networks; and produces original content under the ABC Signature, Disney Branded Television, FX Productions, Lucasfilm, Marvel, National Geographic Studios, Pixar, Searchlight Pictures, Twentieth Century Studios, 20th Television, and Walt Disney Pictures banners.