Farringdon Capital Ltd. Makes New $3.41 Million Investment in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 123,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,409,000. News makes up about 1.4% of Farringdon Capital Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NWSA. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in News by 2,392.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of News in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in News in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in News during the third quarter worth about $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Stock Down 2.7 %

NWSA opened at $25.67 on Thursday. News Co. has a 12 month low of $22.65 and a 12 month high of $30.69. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.16 and a beta of 1.24.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 expect that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NWSA shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital dropped their price target on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on News in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of News from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $38.80.

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.