News (NASDAQ:NWS) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 1,046,752 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 43% from the previous session’s volume of 733,296 shares.The stock last traded at $29.96 and had previously closed at $29.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

News Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $17.18 billion, a PE ratio of 41.48 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.65.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.01). News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. Equities research analysts anticipate that News Co. will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NWS. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in News in the 4th quarter valued at about $818,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in News by 120.9% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 222,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,781,000 after purchasing an additional 121,970 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of News by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 44,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 3,526 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of News by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 208,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,353,000 after purchasing an additional 8,991 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of News during the 4th quarter worth about $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.63% of the company’s stock.

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.