Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX) Short Interest Up 39.1% in September

Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,950,000 shares, an increase of 39.1% from the August 31st total of 2,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 933,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

FOX Price Performance

NASDAQ:FOX traded up $0.17 on Friday, reaching $38.84. 474,800 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,127,004. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.61. FOX has a 12 month low of $25.82 and a 12 month high of $39.09. The firm has a market cap of $18.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. FOX had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 10.74%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that FOX will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

FOX Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from FOX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. FOX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of FOX from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at FOX

In other news, COO John Nallen sold 52,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.96, for a total value of $2,059,971.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 249,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,717,559.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other FOX news, CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch purchased 119,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $39.06 per share, for a total transaction of $4,675,677.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,076,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,044,457.42. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO John Nallen sold 52,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.96, for a total value of $2,059,971.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 249,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,717,559.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 19.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FOX

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its stake in FOX by 14.5% during the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 5,023,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,863,000 after purchasing an additional 636,247 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of FOX by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,326,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,483,000 after buying an additional 272,743 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of FOX in the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,709,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in FOX by 7.8% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,535,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,953,000 after acquiring an additional 111,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its position in FOX by 21.5% in the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,273,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,758,000 after acquiring an additional 225,768 shares in the last quarter. 26.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FOX Company Profile

Fox Corporation operates as a news, sports, and entertainment company in the United States (U.S.). The company operates through Cable Network Programming; Television; and Other, Corporate and Eliminations segments. The Cable Network Programming segment produces and licenses news, business news, and sports content for distribution through traditional cable television systems, direct broadcast satellite operators, and telecommunication companies, virtual multi-channel video programming distributors, and other digital platforms primarily in the U.S.