Farringdon Capital Ltd. Takes Position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 123,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,409,000. News accounts for 1.4% of Farringdon Capital Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in News by 2,392.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,005 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of News in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in News during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in News by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in News in the third quarter worth about $85,000. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

News Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.86. The company had a trading volume of 2,980,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,808,458. News Co. has a one year low of $22.65 and a one year high of $30.69. The firm has a market cap of $14.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.43 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.73. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $27.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.71.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts predict that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. News's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NWSA. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on News from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group raised shares of News from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of News to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.80.

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.