Power Corp of Canada, a prominent Canadian investment management firm, has significantly increased its holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA), according to the company’s recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The report states that Power Corp’s stake in News has risen by an astounding 982.9% during the first quarter, with the acquisition of an additional 191,868 shares. This brings Power Corp’s total holdings in News to 211,388 shares, worth $3,429,000 as of the end of the quarter.
This significant increase in ownership by a respected investment management firm highlights Power Corp’s confidence in the future prospects of News Co. Moreover, it indicates their belief that investing in News will yield favorable returns over time.
Several research firms have commented on NWSA recently. StockNews.com upgraded its rating on News from “hold” to “buy” in a research report released on August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co., in a separate research report published on August 21st, revised its price target for News from $27.00 to $28.00 and also gave the stock an “overweight” rating. Furthermore, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on News with an “overweight” rating and set a price target of $27.50 for the company. Lastly, Guggenheim raised its price target on News from $30.00 to $32.00 and also assigned it a “buy” rating in their research report issued on August 14th.
These positive assessments from reputable research firms contribute to the overall consensus rating of “Buy,” as reported by Bloomberg. Additionally, analysts have determined an average price target of $28.13 for NWSA stock.
On Wednesday morning, September 13th, shares of NWSA began trading at $20.82 per share on NASDAQ. When considering key financial measures for News Co., it is worth noting that the company has a quick ratio of 1.18, suggesting it possesses sufficient liquid assets to meet short-term liabilities. News also maintains a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.
In terms of its stock performance, News Co. has experienced a range between its 52-week low of $14.87 and its 52-week high of $21.69. As of September 13th, News reported a market capitalization of $11.90 billion and possessed a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 77.11, indicating investors’ expectations for potential future growth in the company.
Furthermore, considering the stock’s volatility, it is important to mention that News carries a beta value of 1.32. This means that the stock is generally more volatile than the overall market average.
Lastly, by observing the moving averages for NWSA stock, we can deduce that the 50-day moving average stands at $20.40, while the two-hundred-day moving average hovers around $18.67.
Power Corp’s decision to remarkably increase its holdings in News demonstrates their confidence in the company’s potential growth and long-term prospects. With positive ratings from various research firms and an average price target above the current trading price, it indicates that investors believe in News Co.’s ability to deliver favorable returns in the coming months and years.
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Hedge Funds and Insiders Make Moves with News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) Stock
In a recent development, several hedge funds have shown significant interest in the shares of News (NASDAQ:NWSA), buying and selling substantial amounts of the company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co., for instance, has increased its stake in News by 75.2% during the first quarter. The company now owns 644,612 shares of News valued at $14,278,000, after acquiring an additional 276,730 shares.
Similarly, American Century Companies Inc. has enlarged its stake in News by 11.1% in the first quarter. The company currently holds 35,807 shares valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 3,578 shares. US Bancorp DE also witnessed a growth of 68.1% in its stake by acquiring an additional 2,963 shares during the same period.
Furthermore, Natixis Advisors L.P. saw its stake increase by 8.2% after adding an additional 2,430 shares to its portfolio during this period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC also showed a robust growth of 22.4% by acquiring an additional 19,490 shares.
Remarkably, institutional investors and hedge funds own a substantial portion – around 65.55% – of the company’s stock.
On September 13th this year, CAO Marygrace Degrazio conducted a transaction where she sold off approximately 9,754 shares of News’ stock for approximately $205,614.32. Following this sale on Tuesday that coincided with August’s high volatility level (averaging $21), Ms.Degrazio retained approximately $45787899 worth of company stock from her previous direct ownership that totaled to about $21m.The revenue gained from these transactioned was published in compliance with regulations stipulated by SEC.
In another related yet interesting update shared via SEC’s website regarding News financial statements disclosure category (as mandated by the SEC), CFO Susan Panuccio sold an aggregate 184,212 shares of News’ stock on the same trading day as Ms.Degrazio for a sum total of around $3,862925.64. As of today, it has been reported that her direct ownership in the company remains steady at 165045 shares with an estimated value of approximately $3m.
Intriguingly, it was discovered that CAO Marygrace Degrazio had made another transaction during the same period, selling off another 9,754 shares of News’ stock for a similar price per share as before – approximately $20561432.Since these action compete with each other negatively., Ms.Degrazio decided to end with a remarkable chief financial officer Susan Panucciosales record remaining as accountable influence bearing now less than 15% corporate accessibility.
Overall through insider sales conducted over the past three months, insiders have collectively sold an impressive total amounting to $5,285,380 worth of company stock. Currently,corporate insiders own about 13.80% of News’ stock.
Several research firms have also weighed in on News recently. StockNews.com upgraded the rating of News from “hold” to “buy” in a research report generated on August 16th.Guggenheim MSD adopted this concept and increased their expectation target to reach up to astounding $32.00 for NWSA share.The response from research analysts and related firms has undoubtedly been favorable with five out of five analysts giving NWSA shares a “Buy” rating-according to Bloomberg’s aggregated insights and consensus rating.
News released its quarterly earnings results on August 10th. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.14 for the quarter, surpassing the market consensus estimate by $0.05; which averaged to just under than expected EPS at range ($0.-$9). Despite these promising numbers News’ net margin remained below the profitability average at 1.51%. The return on equity for this quarter is a respectable number standing at 3.17%.
However, some underwhelming news was shown on News revenue data, which went down by 9.1% in comparison to the same quarter of last year. Analysts were also disappointed by the company’s failure to meet their expectation of $2.49 billion, instead reporting revenues amounting to $2.43 billion during the quarter.
Analysts have predicted that News Co.’s EPS will stabilise at around 0.73 for this fiscal year based on recent performance figures.
In terms of dividends, News Company revealed plans to distribute a Semi-Annual dividend payment due on October 11th this year.As per ex-dividend requirements shareholders are required to be recorded as stockholders by September12th and will receive $0.10/share with a rate yield hitting below rating calculation; weighing approximately at about a conservative figure – 0.9%. Nonetheless the high yield might not be viable prospect considering prevailing volatility.
Despite its recent ups and downs, it seems that News has attracted institutional investors who continue to invest in or trade its shares.Such astute investment is notable for
