StockNews.com Begins Coverage on New York Times (NYSE:NYT)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of New York Times (NYSE:NYT – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. TheStreet raised shares of New York Times from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Monday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of New York Times from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of New York Times from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of New York Times from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and increased their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $36.00 in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, New York Times presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $37.08.

New York Times Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NYT opened at $36.86 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.72. New York Times has a one year low of $27.58 and a one year high of $47.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.11 and a beta of 0.99.

New York Times Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 5th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 4th. This is a boost from New York Times’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. New York Times’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.29%.

New York Times announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 8th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Roland A. Caputo sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.44, for a total value of $493,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,853 shares in the company, valued at $2,478,922.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Roland A. Caputo sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.44, for a total value of $493,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,853 shares in the company, valued at $2,478,922.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Levien Meredith A. Kopit sold 29,758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.05, for a total transaction of $1,191,807.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 74,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,988,130.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of New York Times

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in New York Times during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in New York Times during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in New York Times by 52.5% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in New York Times by 68.8% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in New York Times during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.15% of the company’s stock.

New York Times Company Profile

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The New York Times Co is a media organization, which engages in creating, collecting, and distributing news and information. It offers news products and other interest-specific products, and related content and services. It offers newspapers, print, and digital products and investments. The firm also manages The New York Times, NYTimes.com, and mobile applications.