FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) Upgraded to Hold by Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

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

FOX Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FOX opened at $38.05 on Wednesday. FOX has a 52 week low of $25.82 and a 52 week high of $39.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.25. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. FOX had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. On average, analysts expect that FOX will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from FOX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. FOX’s payout ratio is presently 17.25%.

Insider Transactions at FOX

In related news, CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch bought 119,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.06 per share, with a total value of $4,675,677.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,076,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,044,457.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other FOX news, COO John Nallen sold 52,874 shares of FOX stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.96, for a total transaction of $2,059,971.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 249,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,717,559.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch acquired 119,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $39.06 per share, with a total value of $4,675,677.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,076,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,044,457.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 23.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FOX

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of FOX in the 1st quarter valued at $1,711,000. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of FOX by 117.8% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 145,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,666,000 after purchasing an additional 78,801 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in shares of FOX in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,690,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in FOX by 47.3% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 362,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,365,000 after acquiring an additional 116,218 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in FOX by 93.3% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 945,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,155,000 after purchasing an additional 456,546 shares in the last quarter. 26.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About FOX

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.