AXQ Capital LP Decreases Stock Position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

AXQ Capital LP decreased its position in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 51.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,620 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,241 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in News were worth $595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWSA. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of News by 2,392.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in News during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of News in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of News during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of News by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on NWSA shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup began coverage on News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim upped their price objective on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NWSA stock opened at $27.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $28.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.77. The company has a market cap of $15.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.04 and a beta of 1.34. News Co. has a 52 week low of $22.65 and a 52 week high of $30.69.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. As a group, analysts anticipate that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s payout ratio is 27.40%.

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.