FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOXA - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $57.72 and last traded at $57.48, with a volume of 8093392 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded FOX to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of FOX from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Macquarie reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of FOX in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of FOX from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of FOX from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.00.

FOX Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $25.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.32.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. FOX had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 18.50%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fox Co. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

FOX Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. FOX's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Keith Rupert Murdoch sold 186,871 shares of FOX stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.22, for a total value of $8,637,177.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Adam G. Ciongoli sold 1,278 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total transaction of $69,178.14. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,618,324.61. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 21.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of FOX by 44,205.3% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,915,576 shares of the company's stock worth $335,066,000 after acquiring an additional 7,897,710 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in FOX in the 4th quarter worth about $132,161,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in FOX during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,471,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of FOX by 240.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,884,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,570,000 after buying an additional 1,330,908 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FOX by 228.4% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,387,107 shares of the company's stock worth $58,716,000 after buying an additional 964,737 shares in the last quarter. 52.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FOX Company Profile

Fox Corporation operates as a news, sports, and entertainment company in the United States (U.S.). The company operates through four segments: Cable Network Programming, Television, Credible, and The FOX Studio Lot. The Cable Network Programming segment produces and licenses 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.