Allstate Corp Makes New Investment in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 10,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in News by 124.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,713,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,832,000 after buying an additional 8,144,856 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of News by 381.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 192,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,138,000 after purchasing an additional 152,864 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in News by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,458,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,850,000 after purchasing an additional 338,958 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in News by 108.0% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 215,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,743,000 after purchasing an additional 111,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in News in the 4th quarter worth approximately $374,000. 66.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA opened at $27.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.07 and a beta of 1.34. News Co. has a 1-year low of $22.65 and a 1-year high of $30.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group upgraded shares of News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Loop Capital decreased their target price on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on News in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

News 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.