FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.34 EPS

FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA) issued its earnings results on Monday. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.34, Briefing.com reports. FOX had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 18.14%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. FOX’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis.

FOX Price Performance

Shares of FOXA opened at $62.94 on Monday. FOX has a 12 month low of $50.03 and a 12 month high of $76.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.15 and its 200-day moving average is $64.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.13, a P/E/G ratio of 7.75 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on FOX from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on FOX from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of FOX in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on FOX from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on FOX from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FOX news, CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch sold 637,752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.20, for a total transaction of $37,117,166.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 152 shares in the company, valued at $8,846.40. This trade represents a 99.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO John Nallen sold 216,806 shares of FOX stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.68, for a total value of $12,505,370.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 362,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,892,042.08. This represents a 37.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,586,871 shares of company stock valued at $91,893,926. 19.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in FOX by 72.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,821,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,948,000 after purchasing an additional 762,645 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in FOX by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 417,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,536,000 after buying an additional 43,232 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in FOX by 624.5% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 281,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,753,000 after buying an additional 242,321 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of FOX by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 276,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,457,000 after buying an additional 46,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of FOX by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 128,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,425,000 after buying an additional 1,644 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.52% of the company’s stock.

FOX Company Profile

Fox Corporation (NASDAQ: FOXA) is a U.S.-based media company focused on television broadcasting, cable news and sports programming, and digital distribution. The company was formed in 2019 as the successor to certain assets of 21st Century Fox after a transaction that transferred many film and television studio assets to The Walt Disney Company. Fox Corp’s operations center on the Fox Broadcasting network, a portfolio of local television stations, national news and business cable networks, and sports media properties.

Fox produces, acquires and distributes a range of live and recorded programming, including news, opinion and commentary, national and local sports telecasts, and general entertainment.