Moffett Nathanson Downgrades FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) to Hold

FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) was downgraded by analysts at Moffett Nathanson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Barclays raised FOX to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th.

FOX Stock Performance

Shares of FOX stock opened at $45.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 2.33. FOX has a 1 year low of $25.82 and a 1 year high of $47.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $45.28 and its 200 day moving average is $40.16.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. FOX had a net margin of 13.40% and a return on equity of 16.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that FOX will post 3.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Keith Rupert Murdoch sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.05, for a total value of $4,205,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,258,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,935,147.10. This trade represents a 7.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO John Nallen sold 182,481 shares of FOX stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total transaction of $7,979,894.13. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 249,424 shares in the company, valued at $10,907,311.52. This represents a 42.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,053,505 shares of company stock worth $47,705,970. 23.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of FOX

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its stake in FOX by 136.9% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 777 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of FOX during the third quarter worth about $74,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in FOX during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in FOX in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $136,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in FOX by 1,269.2% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the period. 26.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About FOX

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.