Inspire Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Inspire Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,345 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,403 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in News were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Seelaus Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of News by 3.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of News by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of News by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of News by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 12,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of News by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NWSA shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Guggenheim upped their target price on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

News Price Performance

Shares of NWSA stock opened at $26.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.90 and a beta of 1.34. News Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.65 and a fifty-two week high of $30.69. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $28.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.73.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

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

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.