Stevens Capital Management LP Purchases New Holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 14,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $411,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NWSA. 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in News during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in News during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in News during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA opened at $27.04 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.17 and a 200 day moving average of $27.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.04 and a beta of 1.34. News Co. has a 12-month low of $22.65 and a 12-month high of $30.69.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its 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 net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. On average, research analysts anticipate that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.25.

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.