News (NASDAQ:NWSA) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of News (NASDAQ:NWSA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of News from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of News in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.20.

News Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NWSA stock opened at $28.05 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.86. News has a 52 week low of $23.38 and a 52 week high of $30.69. The stock has a market cap of $15.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.43 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2 billion. News had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.13 earnings per share. Analysts predict that News will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On News

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in News during the fourth quarter worth approximately $172,357,000. Asset Value Investors Ltd acquired a new position in shares of News during the 4th quarter worth approximately $122,391,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of News by 291.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,941,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,088,000 after buying an additional 3,678,215 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in News in the 1st quarter valued at $85,213,000. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its holdings in News by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 26,617,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $733,039,000 after acquiring an additional 2,812,080 shares in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.