News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $29.13 and last traded at $28.81, with a volume of 57393 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $27.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NWSA shares. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of News from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on News from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.00.

News Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $16.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.93 and a beta of 1.34.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. News had a return on equity of 4.51% and a net margin of 2.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that News Co. will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a yield of 0.7%. News’s payout ratio is 43.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of News by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 11,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in News by 8.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 55,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 4,077 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its holdings in shares of News by 815.5% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 429,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,440,000 after purchasing an additional 382,671 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of News by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 385,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,253,000 after purchasing an additional 8,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parametrica Management Ltd bought a new stake in News in the third quarter worth $389,000. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.